Table 1.

Characteristics of included Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnostic instruments.

Instrument	Year of development	Origin (source language)	Construct(s)	Target population	Purpose(s)	Mode of administration	Recall period	Number of items	Response options
Traditional Chinese Medicine Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders Scale31	2010	China (Mandarin)	TCM signs and symptoms of FGIDs	Patients with FGIDs	Diagnose TCM patterns	Self-administered	2 weeks	44	Never1; Not that much2; Moderate3; Frequently4; All the time5
Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Differentiation Instrument for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders32	2011	China (Mandarin)	TCM signs and symptoms of FGIDs	Patients with FGIDs	Diagnose TCM patterns	Self-administered	2 weeks	54	Five-point Likert scale: 1–5 (1=Never, 5=All the time)
Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Differentiation Instrument for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (Amended)35	2015	Hong Kong (Cantonese)	TCM signs and symptoms of FD	Patients with FD	Diagnose TCM patterns	Phone-based interview administered by trained research assistants	2 weeks	24	Five-point Likert scale: 1–5 (1=Never, 5=All the time)
Traditional Chinese Medicine Functional Dyspepsia Scale33	2015	China (Mandarin)	TCM signs and symptoms of FD	Patients with FD	Diagnose TCM patterns	Interview-based with physical assessment administered by TCM practitioners	2 weeks	33 (24 answered by patients; 9 answered by practitioners)	Never1; Not that much2; Moderate3; Frequently4; All the time5
Stomach Qi Deficiency Pattern Assessment Scale34	2018	South Korea (Korean)	TCM signs and symptoms of SQD	Patients with dyspepsia	Diagnose TCM patterns	Interview-based with physical assessment administered by TCM practitioners	Not reported	12 (9 by patients; 3 by TCM practitioners)	Never1; Not that much2; Moderate3; Frequently4; All the time5

TCM: Traditional Chinese Medicine; FGIDs: Functional gastrointestinal diseases; FD: Functional dyspepsia; SQD: Stomach qi deficiency