Health Outcome Measures in Atopic Dermatitis: A Systematic Review of Trends in Disease Severity and Quality-of-Life Instruments 1985–2010

BACKGROUND: A number of disease-severity and quality-of-life (QoL) instruments have emerged in atopic dermatitis (AD) in the last decade. OBJECTIVES: To identify trends in outcomes instruments used in AD clinical trials and to provide a useful summary of the dimensions and validation studies for the most commonly used measures. METHOD: All randomized control trials (RCTs) from 1985 to 2010 in the treatment of AD were examined. RESULTS: Among the 791 RCTs reviewed, we identified 20 disease-severity and 14 QoL instruments. Of these outcomes instruments, few have been validated. SCORAD, EASI, IGA and SASSAD were the most commonly used disease-severity instruments and CDLQI, DFI, DLQI and IDQOL were the most frequently used QoL measures. LIMITATIONS: The small number of RCTs using QoL scales makes identifying trends for QoL instruments difficult. CONCLUSION: Overall, there is an increase in the use of disease-severity and QoL instruments in AD clinical trials.