Comparison of assessments of severity and quality of life in cutaneous disease.
Clinicians are, by profession, capable assessors of severity of disease. Whether from severity they can deduce a patient's Quality of Life (QoL) is debatable. This study compared scores for physician-assessed severity with the corresponding scores for patient QoL, as assessed using Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaires in 57 dermatological out-patients. Although there was some degree of correlation between the two measures (r = 0.56), interpretation of QoL from disease severity is clinically unreliable. Thus a physician's assessment of QoL requires formal assessment using a tool such as the DLQI.
St John's Institute of Dermatology, St Thomas's Hospital, Lambeth Place Road, London, SE1 7EH, UK. anuradhajayaprakasam@hotmail.com
Anuradha
A
Jayaprakasam
A
A
Darvay
G
G
Osborne
D
D
McGibbon
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003657:Decision Making; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy