The Skindex-Mini, a three-item questionnaire assessing domains of symptoms, emotions, and function, designed to retain the validity and reliability of its more complex predecessors, can play a role in identifying atopic dermatitis (AD) severity among pediatric patients, according to a research letter published online June 23 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology .

Anjani Pranav Sheth, from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues validated the Skindex-Mini in pediatric patients with AD in a cross-sectional study involving 177 pediatric patients with AD.

The researchers found a very strong to strong correlation for the Skindex-Mini Total score with skin-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures (Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index [CDLQI], Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure [POEM], and PRO measures of itch and stigma), a moderate correlation with other PROs, and a weak correlation with investigator-completed severity assessments. Based on the validated Investigator Global Assessment (vIGA), Eczema Area and Severity Index, POEM, and CDLQI, mild, moderate, and severe AD strata could be distinguished by the Skindex-Mini Total score.

"We propose that regular collection of just three scores -- vIGA, Body Surface Area, and Skindex-Mini Total score -- may quantitatively capture both investigator and patient assessments, providing a quick but comprehensive picture of AD severity in routine clinical practice," the authors write.

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PEDIATRICS