Table 2.
Hand specific data to be collected during clinical assessment (CAS-HA)
| Concept | Measurement method | Details |
| Clinical Interview Questions: | ||
| Characteristic of complaint | Duration of hand problem | < 12 months, 1-<5 years, 5-<10 years, 10 years + |
| Onset: sudden, gradual | yes, no, for right and left hands | |
| Onset: following accident or injury | yes, no, for right and left hands | |
| Hand pain and hand symptoms | Pain/tenderness in past month | yes, no |
| Hand pain descriptors from McGill Pain Questionnaire§ [37] | 15 descriptors | |
| Pain location: hand drawing | shading both hands front and back | |
| Pain present all the time | yes, no | |
| Pain related to sleep disturbance | yes, no | |
| Pain limits activity | yes, no | |
| Hand stiffness in past month | yes, no | |
| Side of stiffness | right, left, both | |
| Hand stiffness on waking in past month | yes, no | |
| Duration of morning stiffness | ≤ 30 mins, 30+ mins | |
| Finger locking, triggering | yes, no | |
| Release of locking | yes, no | |
| Altered sensation (pins + needles, tingling, numbness) in past month | yes, no | |
| Altered sensation location: hand drawing | shading both hands front and back | |
| Altered sensation worse at night | yes, no | |
| Occupational impact | Stop work due to hand problem | yes, no |
| Absence from work due to hand problem | yes, no | |
| Management/self-help | Adaptation: gadgets, help, avoidance, change method, stop/reduce activity, take longer, other | yes, no |
| 17 treatments/self-help activities tried recently | yes, no | |
| Any treatments effective | yes, no | |
| Family history of joint problems | Relatives with joint problems: father, mother, brother, sister | yes, no |
| Hand involvement | yes, no | |
| Diagnostic and causal attributions | Open-ended questions | free text |
| Health problems | Open-ended question: 2 most important health problems | free text |
| Hand Assessment (right and left hands): | ||
| Upper limb screen | 9 movements (adapted from [38]) | yes, no, unable to assess |
| Observation/Palpation | Swelling, nodes, bony enlargement, deformity at selected joints | yes, no |
| Thenar muscle wasting | yes, no | |
| Dupuytren's | yes, no | |
| Measurement | Thumb opposition [39] | yes, no, for 10 positions |
| Thumb extension | degrees | |
| Wrist extension | degrees | |
| Wrist flexion | degrees | |
| Tests | Phalen's [40,41] | positive, negative, unable to assess |
| Grind [42,43] | positive, negative, unable to assess | |
| Finklestein's [42,44] | positive, negative, unable to assess | |
| Hand function | Grip Ability Test [45] | timed (seconds) |
| Power grip (JAMAR dynomometer) [46] | lbs | |
| Pinch grip (B&L pinch gauge) [46] | lbs | |
| Brief self-complete questionnaire: | ||
| Hand pain and hand symptoms | Days of hand pain, ache or stiffness in past month*§ [10] | all, most, some, few, no |
| Severity of hand pain in past month*§ | numerical rating scale (0–10) | |
| Thumb pain during activity in past month*§ | yes, no | |
| Swelling in hands in past month | yes, no | |
| Impact of symptoms | Severity of overall hand problems in past month*§ | none, very mild, mild, moderate, severe |
| Bothersomeness of hand problem in past 2 weeks*§ (adapted from [47]) | not at all, slightly, moderately, very much, extremely | |
| Symptom satisfaction*§ (adapted from [23]) | 5-point Likert scale: very dissatisfied to very satisfied | |
*Also gathered at 18 months; § Also gathered at 3 years; ‡ Minimum data to be sought at 18 months and 3 years from non-responders