Clinical Tools
Learn more about some clinical tools that can be helpful in screening, diagnosing, and monitoring your patients.
This list is provided for educational purposes only. The tools described here are provided for your convenience. This is not an exhaustive list. AbbVie Inc. does not endorse or recommend the use of any specific tool. Healthcare providers should use their clinical judgment when reviewing educational resources on USDermEd.
Please note: While each category in the drop-down menu has been independently validated, the combinations across categories have not all been examined in the literature. Additional research may be needed in order to confirm whether a particular tool is appropriate for a particular patient population.
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Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI)
The Dermatology Life Quality Index is the most used dermatologic-specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instrument. The DLQI is a self-administered, validated 10‑question assessment that covers 6 aspects of a subject’s HRQoL over the prior week: symptoms and feelings, daily activities, leisure, work/school, personal relationships, and treatment. The DLQI total score is calculated by summing the scores of each question for a total score that ranges from 0 to 30.
Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI)
The Eczema Area and Severity Index is a widely used tool to assess severity of atopic dermatitis (eczema). The EASI evaluation involves assessing 4 body regions—head, trunk, and upper and lower extremities—across 2 domains of disease activity, percent of body surface affected, and the intensity of lesional skin into one composite score. Percent of body surface affected is based on a 7-point scale and intensity/severity is based on a 4-point scale consisting of values assigned to erythema, edema/papulation, excoriation, and lichenification.
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale is a simple, easy-to-use questionnaire designed for screening anxiety and depression in at‑risk patients. Atopic dermatitis (AD), especially moderate-to-severe AD, can significantly impact a patient’s psychological well-being and is associated with decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures. The HADS scale helps clinicians evaluate and quantify the psychological impact of AD on their patients.
Investigator’s Global Assessment of Atopic Dermatitis (IGA)
The Investigator’s Global Assessment for atopic dermatitis (AD) scale is used to assess the overall disease severity in dermatologic studies. The IGA is an easy-to-perform standardized global assessment for use in AD clinical trials. Historically, both static and dynamic IGA scales have been used, with scoring that has ranged from 4 to 7 points.
Nail Psoriasis Severity Index (NAPSI)
The Nail Psoriasis Severity Index scale is a simple, reproducible, and objective measure used to evaluate the severity of nail bed psoriasis and nail matrix psoriasis by area of involvement in the nail unit.
Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI)
The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index is a widely used tool to assess psoriatic disease severity at a specific point in time. The PASI evaluation involves assessing 4 body regions—head, trunk, and upper and lower extremities—across 2 domains of disease activity, percent of surface area affected, and severity of the psoriatic lesions. Percent of surface area affected is based on a 6-point scale and severity of psoriatic lesions is based on a 5-point scale consisting of values assigned to erythema, induration, and desquamation.
Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM)
The Patient Oriented Eczema Measure is a self-reported patient questionnaire designed to assess the severity of atopic dermatitis (AD). It focuses on the illness as experienced by the patient.
Palmoplantar Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PPASI)
The Palmoplantar Psoriasis Area and Severity Index scale is used to assess the severity of localized non-pustule psoriasis on the palms and soles of patients. A clinician assesses the palms and soles for induration, desquamation, and erythema, and surface area of palms and soles covered by plaque psoriasis.
Psoriasis Scalp Severity Index (PSSI)
The Psoriasis Scalp Severity Index scale, a modified equivalence to the PASI score, measures psoriasis severity of the scalp based on erythema, desquamation, and infiltration. The score ranges from 0 (no signs of psoriasis) to 72 (the most severe form of disease).
SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD)
SCORing Atopic Dermatitis is an easy-to-use clinical tool for assessing the severity of atopic dermatitis (AD). SCORAD is based on both a clinician’s assessment of the extent and severity of AD and the patient’s subjective experiences of their disease. This tool is often used before and after treatment to determine whether the treatment has been effective.
Static Physician Global Assessment of Psoriasis (sPGA)
The 5-point Static Physician Global Assessment scale is used to assess the overall severity of psoriasis at a given point in time. The score ranges from 0 (clear) to 4 (severe). The assessment is considered “static” because it refers to the subject’s disease state at the time of the assessment, without comparison to any of the subject’s previous disease states, whether at baseline or at a previous visit.
Static Physician Global Assessment of Genitalia (sPGA-G)
The Static Physician Global Assessment scale is a 6-point measure used to evaluate the severity of genital psoriasis. The score ranges from 0 (clear) to 5 (very severe). The assessment is considered “static” because it refers to the subject’s disease state at the time of the assessment, without comparison to any of the subject’s previous disease states, whether at baseline or at a previous visit.
Worst Itch/Pruritus Numeric Rating Scale (WI-NRS/WP-NRS)
The Worst Itch Numeric Rating Scale is a single-item patient-reported questionnaire that measures itch intensity, pruritus, over the past 24 hours. The scale ranges from 0 (no itch) to 10 (worst itch imaginable).