title: The eczema area and severity index (EASI): assessment of reliability in atopic dermatitis. EASI Evaluator Group.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the reliability of the eczema area and severity index (EASI) scoring system by assessing inter- and intra-observer consistency.
  
  
  METHODS
  Training of evaluators, application, and assessment over 2 consecutive days.
  
  
  METHODS
  An academic center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty adults and children with atopic dermatitis (AD); cohort 1 (10 patients > or = 8 years) and cohort 2 (10 patients < 8 years).
  
  
  METHODS
  None.
  
  
  METHODS
  The EASI was used by 15 dermatologist evaluators to assess atopic dermatitis in cohort 1 and cohort 2 on 2 consecutive days. Inter- and intraobserver reliability were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall intra-evaluator reliability of the EASI was in the fair-to-good range. Inter-evaluator reliability analyses indicated that the evaluators assessed the patients consistently across both study days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that the EASI can be learned quickly and utilized reliably in the assessment of severity and extent of AD. There was consistency among the evaluators between consecutive days of evaluation. These results support the use of the EASI in clinical trials of therapeutic agents for AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland 97201-3098, USA. hanifinj@ohsu.edu
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hanifin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thurston
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Omoto
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cherill
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Tofte
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Graeber
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003880:Dermatology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004485:Eczema / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index