Table 1.

Search Strategy and Terms

Concept	Search terms per database (including MESH terms)	Years of coverage (for all 4 concepts)	Records identified (for all 4 concepts)
1. Encephalitis & encephalopathy	Embase: ('encephalitis'/exp OR (encephali* OR (encephalomyeli* NOT myalgic-encephalomyelitis) OR meningoencephalit* OR panencephalit* OR rhombencephalit*):ab,ti,kw OR encephalopath*:ti,kw) NOT 'chronic fatigue syndrome'/de Medline: (exp Encephalomyelitis/OR (encephali* OR (encephalomyeli* NOT myalgic-encephalomyelitis) OR meningoencephalit* OR panencephalit* OR rhombencephalit*).ab,ti,kf. OR (encephalopath*).ti,kf) NOT Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic/ Cochrane: ((encephali* OR (encephalomyeli* NOT myalgic NEXT encephalomyelitis) OR meningoencephalit* OR panencephalit* OR rhombencephalit*):ab,ti,kw OR encephalopath*:ti,kw)	Embase: 1971–2023 Medline: 1946–2023 Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials: 1992–2023	Embase: 5,889 Medline: 3,026 Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials: 524
2. Patient-reported outcome measures	Embase: 'patient-reported outcome'/de OR 'health survey'/de OR 'questionnaire'/exp OR 'self report'/de OR 'outcome assessment'/de OR (patient-reported-outcome* OR PROM OR PROMs OR health-survey* OR questionnaire* OR self-report* OR ((outcome*) NEAR/3 (Measure* OR assessment* OR score* OR Tool* OR Scale*))):ab,ti,kw) Medline: (Patient Reported Outcome Measures/OR Patient Outcome Assessment/OR exp "Surveys and Questionnaires"/OR Outcome Assessment, Health Care/OR (patient-reported-outcome* OR PROM OR PROMs OR health-survey* OR questionnaire* OR self-report* OR ((outcome*) ADJ3 (Measure* OR assessment* OR score* OR Tool* OR Scale*))).ab,ti,kf.) Cochrane: ((patient NEXT reported NEXT outcome* OR PROM OR PROMs OR health NEXT survey* OR questionnaire* OR self NEXT report* OR ((outcome*) NEAR/3 (Measure* OR assessment* OR score* OR Tool* OR Scale*))):ab,ti,kw)
3. Population able to self-report (older children and adults)	Embase: NOT ('infant'/exp NOT ('adult'/exp OR 'juvenile'/de OR 'adolescent'/exp OR 'child'/de OR 'abandoned child'/de OR 'adopted child'/de OR 'boy'/de OR 'brain damaged child'/de OR 'child of impaired parents'/de OR 'foster child'/de OR 'gifted child'/de OR 'girl'/de OR 'handicapped child'/de OR 'hospitalized child'/de OR 'institutionalized child'/de OR 'orphaned child'/de OR 'preschool child'/de OR 'school child'/de OR 'single parent child'/de OR 'toddler'/de OR 'unwanted child'/de)) NOT ((animal/exp OR animal*:de OR nonhuman/de) NOT ('human'/exp)) Medline: NOT (exp Infant/NOT (exp Adult/OR exp Child/OR Adolescent/)) NOT (exp animals/NOT humans/)
4. Article type	Embase: NOT [conference abstract]/lim Medline: NOT (letter* OR news OR comment* OR editorial* OR congres* OR abstract* OR book* OR chapter* OR dissertation abstract*).pt Cochrane: NOT “conference abstract”:pt