title: English version of the interim report published in 1998 by the members of the Advisory Committee on Atopic Dermatitis Severity Classification Criteria of the Japanese Dermatological Association.
abstract: The Japanese Dermatological Association established an advisory committee in 1995 to set up severity scoring systems for atopic dermatitis (AD). Its interim report was published in Japanese in the Japanese Journal of Dermatology (108: 1491-1496, 1998) by Chairman Hikotaro Yoshida. Because of the strong demand for an English version, we have decided to publish the report in English. This prospective study was designed to evaluate the status of 259 AD patients using Method 1, which involves a simple global evaluation of disease severity; Method 2, which involves global evaluation by summing severity scores obtained from five body regions (i.e. the head and neck, anterior and posterior trunks, and upper and lower limbs); Method 3, which consists of both assessment of the extent of involved areas at each of the five body regions and that of the severity scores of each eruption component observed in the most severely affected body region; and Method 4, which consists of the evaluation of only subjective components (daytime pruritus and sleep disturbance). Employing the results obtained with Method 1 as a tentative benchmark, we analyzed its correlation with those of Methods 2, 3 and 4 to statistically assess the validity and reliability of these methods. Method 2, Method 3 and the portion of Method 4 involving evaluation of only the subjective symptom of daytime pruritus but not the sleep disturbance were considered useful in evaluating AD severity.
authors.affiliation: Advisory Committee on Atopic Dermatitis Severity Classification Criteria of Japanese Dermatological Association.
authors.forename: Hikotaro
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: Masutaka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furue
authors.forename: Hachiro
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tagami
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Fujio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ohtsuka
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishioka
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toda
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mizoguchi
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: Zenro
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ikezawa
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takigawa
authors.forename: Jiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arata
authors.forename: Shoso
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Masahide
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishigaki
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kusunoki
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D026683:Advisory Committees; D002648:Child; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000145:classification* / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011537:Pruritus / Q000209:etiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D012955:Societies, Medical; D055815:Young Adult