Atopic dermatitis: scoring severity and quality of life assessment

To provide a comprehensive assessment of atopic dermatitis severity, it is important to measure a combination of parameters: objective visual skin changes (clinical signs), patient symptoms and quality of life, as all three measures provide different information about disease severity. Of the numerous objective severity scales described for atopic dermatitis, the SCORAD index and Eczema Area and Severity Index have been most extensively validated and widely used. For measuring disease severity from the patient's perspective, the Patient Oriented Eczema Measure or visual analogue scores of itch and sleep loss should be employed. In future, more emphasis should be placed on measuring the impact of changes in atopic dermatitis severity on quality of life, using validated measures such as the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index, Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life index or Dermatitis Family Impact questionnaire.