This article aims to clarify and establish a shared understanding of the recommended CDISC approach for identifying CDISC Biomedical Concepts (BCs) within a defined group of interest, with particular emphasis on Questionnaires, Ratings, and Scales (QRS) instruments.
Searching for BCs through the National Cancer Institute Thesaurus(NCIt) hierarchy may seem like a logical approach, but it is not always the most effective way to locate BCs. Although the NCIt hierarchy provides useful conceptual context, it serves many purposes beyond CDISC and therefore does not consistently align with CDISC‑specific needs. To address this, the CDISC BC data model includes a categories attribute, allowing BC curators to assign one or more commonly used search categories. These categories can range from broad groupings to more granular classifications (e.g., Laboratory Procedures, Chemistry Tests, Liver Function Tests), helping users more easily find BCs relevant to their work.
QRS instruments present a more complex use case because of how the NCIt hierarchy is structured. The instrument itself is not linked within NCIt to its individual questions or assessments. Instead, all assessments for a given QRS instrument are grouped under a single NCIt parent concept that serves as a container for the full set of questions. As a result, relying on NCIt alone is not sufficient for locating all BCs associated with a specific QRS instrument. This is why the categories attribute in the CDISC BC data model is essential—it enables curators to tag BCs in ways that make it possible to search for and retrieve all concepts tied to a particular instrument. For example, the BC for “6 Minute Walk Functional Test” (C115789) includes the following categories:
- QRS
- Functional Assessment
- 6 Minute Walk Functional Test
- SIX MINUTE WALK
- SIXMW1
- 6MWT
Users may want to search for BCs that are associated with QRS in general, or they may be interested in BCs tied to a specific type of assessment, such as Functional Assessments. For the former scenario, search categories by QRS to return all QRS instruments published in the CDISC BC repository, for the latter scenario, search categories by Functional Assessments to return all QRS that are Functional Tests. When searching for BCs associated with a specific QRS instrument, e.g., “6 Minute Walk Functional Test”, users can select one of the instrument-specific categories, which includes the instrument name and its alternate terms. Choosing any of these more targeted categories will return all BCs associated with the instrument, as illustrated in the table below.
short_name | ncit_code | parent_bc_id | bc_categories | synonyms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
6 Minute Walk Functional Test | QRS; Functional Assessment; 6 Minute Walk Functional Test; SIX MINUTE WALK; SIXMW1; 6MWT | 6MWT; SIXMW1;SIX MINUTE WALK | ||
6MWT - Distance at 1 Minute | QRS; Functional Assessment; 6 Minute Walk Functional Test; SIX MINUTE WALK; SIXMW1; 6MWT; 6MWT Functional Test Question | SIXMW101; SIXMW1-Distance at 1 Minute | ||
6MWT - Distance at 2 Minutes | QRS; Functional Assessment; 6 Minute Walk Functional Test; SIX MINUTE WALK; SIXMW1; 6MWT ;6MWT Functional Test Question | SIXMW102; SIXMW1-Distance at 2 Minutes | ||
6MWT - Distance at 3 Minutes | QRS; Functional Assessment; 6 Minute Walk Functional Test; SIX MINUTE WALK; SIXMW1; 6MWT; 6MWT Functional Test Question | SIXMW103; SIXMW1-Distance at 3 Minutes | ||
6MWT - Distance at 4 Minutes | QRS; Functional Assessment;6 Minute Walk Functional Test; SIX MINUTE WALK; SIXMW1; 6MWT; 6MWT Functional Test Question | SIXMW104; SIXMW1-Distance at 4 Minutes | ||
6MWT - Distance at 5 Minutes | QRS; Functional Assessment; 6 Minute Walk Functional Test; SIX MINUTE WALK; SIXMW1; 6MWT; 6MWT Functional Test Question | SIXMW105; SIXMW1-Distance at 5 Minutes | ||
6MWT - Distance at 6 Minutes | QRS; Functional Assessment; 6 Minute Walk Functional Test; SIX MINUTE WALK; SIXMW1; 6MWT; 6MWT Functional Test Question | SIXMW106; SIXMW1-Distance at 6 Minutes |
As shown in the table, seven BCs are associated with the 6‑Minute Walk Functional Test. One represents the instrument itself, and the remaining six correspond to the individual questions or assessments within the instrument. All seven can be retrieved by searching any of the following categories: 6 Minute Walk Functional Test, Six Minute Walk, SIXMW1, or 6MWT. Search is flexible: it matches full words, phrases, and partial text. Searching for BCs is not case sensitive. Note that the BC attribute “synonyms” is helpful for locating alternate terms during a search, but it does not function as a way to gather or group related BCs. In summary, to retrieve all BCs associated with a specific QRS instrument, use the BC attribute “categories” and search by the instrument’s name or any of its recognized alternate terms.