Article

The purpose of this article is to review the various definitions of
recovery used in the prognostic whiplash literature to date, and to evaluate them
from the framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability
and Health (ICF). METHODS: Reference lists of previous systematic reviews and
meta-analyses on the topic were reviewed and citations were retrieved. An updated
Medline search was performed. Recovery rates and the method for operationalising
recovery were extracted and evaluated for their fit within the ICF model of
health. Descriptive statistics were calculated and presented. RESULTS: Thirty-one
independent cohorts were identified. In total, 30 different primary methods for
defining recovery were described in the sample of literature.
Eighty-three
percent of the primary outcomes fit within the body structure and function domain of the ICF. Restricted participation was the second most common domain
represented, followed by activity limitations. Even within each domain, there is
wide variability in the cut-off values for dichotomising a group as recovered or not. CONCLUSIONS: The wide range of recovery rates reported in the literature can
be at least partly accounted for by the lack of a standardised definition of
recovery after acute whiplash. The emphasis on symptoms in the current literature
neglects other important aspects of health as described by the ICF.

Langue : ANGLAIS