Sexual function composite change score (pooled across instruments)

Method

Standardised mean difference of change-from-baseline sexual function scores pooled across validated instruments that the source review did not harmonise or name individually. The constituent instruments, where the review lists them, are recorded on the edge.

The method is part of the endpoint identity. Studies measuring the same quantity by a different method are held as separate endpoints.

Notes

Not an instrument, and it must never outrank a named-instrument edge. Its specific near-miss is any single named scale - MSF-4, IIEF-5, FSFI - which is a real measurement and is the preferred node whenever the paper reports one. The pooling hazard is a sign hazard: some contributing scales score FUNCTION (higher is better) and some score DYSFUNCTION (higher is worse), so unless the review states that it aligned them, the pooled direction cannot be verified from the report. Where the alignment rule is absent, the edge should be treated as unverified rather than assumed positive.