How to assess AD in clinical research
Diagnostic criteria
Before assessing AD, it is important to diagnose it properly. To do this, tools are available, notably the Hanifin and Rajka diagnostic criteria and the UK Working Party diagnostic criteria.
You can find these criteria by clicking on the links below :
SCORAD
SCORAD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis), developed by the European Task Force on Atopic Dermatitis and published in 1993, is the most widely used tool for assessing the severity of atopic dermatitis. It is particularly used in clinical trials where limiting variability between investigators is the key to trial results.
You will find below a video developed by the ISAD (International Society of Atopic Dermatitis) and OPENED (Oriented Patient Education Network for Dermatology) Task Force and presented by Pr Jean-François STALDER (Nantes University Hospital)
Présentation du SCORAD (vidéo en anglais)
EASI - Eczema Area and Severity Index
EASI is a scale (0-72) used mainly in clinical practice and in clinical trials to assess the severity of clinical signs and body surface area affected by Atopic Dermatitis.
The link below provides access to a presentation of the score by Professor Eric SIMPSON, a dermatologist based in Portland, Oregon. He provides detailed guidance on the use of the EASI score. He explains how to rank the severity of the four signs in each body region and how to assess the percentage of involvement for each body region.
Pruritus numerical rating scale
The intensity of pruritus (itching) is measured on a numerical rating scale (Itch NRS). It is an 11-point horizontal scale (0-10) with 0 representing "no itch" and 10 representing "the worst itch imaginable". The severity of the itch is indicated by the patient selecting the number that best describes the worst level of itching in the last 24 hours.
Below is a video explaining how to use the itch rating scale by Prof. Gil Yosipovitch from the University of Miami (USA).
To find out more about pruritus, you can consult the online course developed by the Université de Bretagne Occidentale – UBO (French content).
IGA
The Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) is the global assessment score of the investigator (dermatologist). It is graded from 0 to 4.
In need of training on AD
The SFD (French Society of Dermatology) has developed a platform dedicated to training offering various contents, including presentations of the Journées Dermatologiques de Paris.
Access is restricted to SFD members.
