Patient-reported outcome and cognitive measures to be used in vascular and brain tumor surgery: proposal for a minimum set

Background The standardization of outcome measures is needed for comparing studies and using common measures in clinical practice. We aimed to identify cognitive and patient-reported outcomes and timing of assessment for glioma, meningioma, and vascular surgery. Method A consensus study was conducted. Participants selected cognitive and patient-reported measures among a list of instruments identified through a literature search. Results Seventeen cognitive tests for the glioma and meningioma’s evaluation, 8 for the vascular diseases, and one questionnaire on quality of life and one on emotional distress were identified. The timing of outcome assessment selected was before surgery, at discharge, and after 3 and 12 months for glioma; before surgery and after 3 months for meningioma; before surgery, at discharge, and after 6 months for vascular diseases. Conclusion The identification of common outcome measures is the first step toward a shared data collection improving the quality and comparability of future studies.