title: A systematic review of patient-reported outcome measures of neuropathy in children, adolescents and young adults.
abstract: Peripheral neuropathy is an important, yet poorly studied, side effect of pediatric cancer treatment. There are many measures of patient-reported peripheral neuropathy in adults but very few in children. We aimed to systematically review and summarize reliable and valid patient-reported peripheral neuropathy scales used in pediatrics.
  
  
  
  Four major electronic databases (Medline, Embase, EBSCO Host in Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and PsycINFO) were reviewed for studies that measured peripheral neuropathy in pediatric patients. Studies eligible for inclusion were those that described use of any patient-reported scale of peripheral neuropathy among children, adolescents, and young adults with any underlying diagnosis (not limited to cancer).
  
  
  
  From a total of 765 articles retrieved, 5 met eligibility criteria and were included. One was a neuropathy symptom score used in patients with diabetes, and the remaining four were in oncology patients and all were based on the total neuropathy score. All involved objective assessments conducted by trained professionals; none relied purely on patient report.
  
  
  
  There are no validated instruments that consist solely of a patient-reported outcome measure of neuropathy in pediatrics and adolescents. Because the clinical evaluation of neuropathy requires specialized training, it is not generalizable in large studies conducted in many diverse institutions. Future studies should validate adult patient-reported neuropathy scales in pediatric and adolescent populations, or develop novel instruments designed for this population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Paediatric Haematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada. djohnston@cheo.on.ca.
authors.forename: Donna L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.affiliation: Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Section of Oncology and Cancer Research, Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.affiliation: Division of Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders, Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital, Boston, USA.
authors.forename: A Lindsay
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Frazier
authors.affiliation: Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, USA.|Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, USA.|Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, USA.
authors.forename: Abby R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D000071066:Patient Reported Outcome Measures; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Patient reported; Pediatrics; Peripheral neuropathy; Systematic review