Protocol for a scoping review to map health outcomes in individuals with inducible laryngeal obstruction

Background

Inducible laryngeal obstruction causes narrowing of the laryngeal aperture in response to external triggers. Outcomes are measured in inducible laryngeal obstruction to monitor changes in health status over time.

Methods

This study is a scoping review based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. The review will be guided by the following research question: ‘What health outcomes are measured in studies including people with inducible laryngeal obstruction?’ The research question was validated using the Population-Concept-Context framework according to the methodology for Joanna Briggs Institution Scoping Reviews. Relevant peer-reviewed studies and grey literature conducted over the last 40 years will be identified from electronic databases including AMED, CINAHL, Embase, EMCARE, MEDLINE, OVID, PubMed and PsycINFO. The search strings ‘inducible laryngeal obstruction’, ‘ILO’, ‘vocal cord dysfunction’, ‘VCD’, ‘paradoxical vocal fold motion’, ‘PVFM’, ‘outcome’, ‘measure’, ‘measurement instrument’, ‘assessment’, ‘scale’, ‘questionnaire’ will be combined using Boolean logic. An independent reviewer will conduct title screening; two independent reviewers will conduct abstract and full article screening, followed by data extraction by two reviewers. Analyses will be conducted appropriate to the findings.

Discussion

The review will document evidence of health outcomes measured in inducible laryngeal obstruction, identifying measurement characteristics and potential utility. Collating studies may identify gaps in coverage, the need for novel tools, and for standardisation for clinical and research purposes.

WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS

What is already known on the subject

• Inducible laryngeal obstruction causes narrowing of the laryngeal aperture in response to external triggers. Outcomes are measured in inducible laryngeal obstruction to monitor changes in health status over time. Currently, there are no standardised outcome measures for measuring the effects of interventions in inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO).

What this paper adds to existing knowledge

• Assessment of health can be measured in a variety of ways. Physiological, radiological and biochemical measurements of impairment are more common historically but there are a lot of outcomes of other factors now including subjective measures of functional status and health-related quality of life, with data collected directly from patients. This study will allow us to scope the literature to see the health outcomes being measured in ILO to attempt to standardise and develop future health outcomes.

What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?

• The review will document evidence of health outcomes measured in inducible laryngeal obstruction, identifying measurement characteristics and potential utility. Collating studies may identify gaps in coverage, the need for novel tools and for standardisation for clinical and research purposes.