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STUDY DESIGN:: Systematic review of abstracts of published papers presumed to contain information on chronic pain in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). OBJECTIVES: To determine to what degree papers on SCI are abstracted in such a way that they can be retrieved, and evaluated as to the paper's applicability to a reader's questions. SETTING: US - academic department of rehabilitation medicine. METHODS: 868 abstracts published in Medline were independently examined by two out of 13 screeners, who answered four questions on the subjects and nature of the paper with 'Yes', 'No' or 'insufficient information'. Frequency of ratings 'insufficient information', and screener agreement were evaluated as affected by screener and abstract/paper characteristics. RESULTS:: Screeners could not determine whether the paper dealt with persons with traumatic SCI for 37% of abstracts; whether chronic pain was a topic could not be determined in 18%. Physicians were less willing than other disciplines to assign 'insufficient information'. Screener agreement was better than chance, but not at the level suggested for quality measurement. Screener discipline and task experience did not make a difference, nor did abstract length, structure, or decade of publication of the paper. CONCLUSION: Authors need to improve the quality of abstracts to make retrieval and screening of relevant papers more effective and efficient. SPONSORSHIP: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.Spinal Cord (2003) 41, 76-84. doi:10.1038/sj.sc.3101414 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study design:Systematic literature reviewObjective:To review and assess the quality of available epidemiologic data of spinal cord injury (SCI) in Poland in the context of general International Classification of Functioning (ICF) domains and to answer the question whether there is a need for a comprehensive epidemiologic study of SCI in Poland.Methods:Databases Medline, Embase and Polish Medical Bibliography were searched using keywords 'spinal cord injury', 'paraplegia', 'tetraplegia' and 'Poland'. Inclusion criteria: studies on humans, original papers, publication in 1979 or later. Case reports and studies with unclear inclusion criteria or performed on a population other than Polish were excluded. Full texts were reviewed for data on incidence, prevalence, etiology, mortality, natural history and outcome of comprehensive treatment. Quality of studies was assessed according to the modified Downs and Black criteria. The ICF model was applied to group the studies according to the ICF components.Results:Out of 536 identified papers, 224 articles were extracted and reviewed. Mean quality score was 11.04 points based on a 28-grade scale. Body functions and structures were assessed in 81.6%, activities in 22.4%, participation in 14.8%, environmental factors in 15.2% and personal factors in 47% of the studies reviewed.Conclusion:Current epidemiologic data on SCI in Poland are insufficient and biased toward biomedical aspects. There is a need to develop a long-term research strategy for SCI in Poland in the form of a comprehensive cohort study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]