title: New Patient-Oriented Tools for Assessing Atrophic Acne Scarring.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Scarring on visible areas such as the face is associated with negative psychological impact. Many patients with acne have clinically relevant scarring for which they seek treatment, implying that there is an impact on their lives. Currently there are no validated tools to assess the burden of atrophic acne scarring from the patient's perspective or to assess treatment benefit.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two patient-reported outcome measures, the self-assessment of clinical acne-related scars (SCARS) and the facial acne scar quality of life (FASQoL) tools, both specific to facial atrophic acne scarring, were developed according to Food and Drug Administration guidance methodology. Patient interviews were conducted first to elicit patient-important concepts about scarring, then to validate patients' understanding of wording in the tools. These tools focus on symptoms (SCARS) and psychological and social well-being (FASQoL) and were designed to be suitable for self-completion and to be rapidly completed (2-5 min) within a clinical research setting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Concept elicitation interviews were conducted with 30 subjects and cognitive interviews with 20 subjects. With acne scarring, important concepts for patients included size, surface area affected, counts, and depth. The SCARS and FASQoL tools were shown to address relevant concepts that were easily understood by patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Two patient-reported measures, SCARS and FASQoL, have been developed to help clinicians assess the severity and impact of acne scars. Responsivity of these instruments to treatment will require further evaluation.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Galderma R&D, Sophia Antipolis, France.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Harrogate District Hospital, Harrogate, UK.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Layton
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Hotel Dieu, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dréno
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Finlay
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Hershey University, Hershey, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thiboutot
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Sewon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Juarez Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Vicente Torres
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Lozada
authors.affiliation: Galderma R & D, Sophia Antipolis, France. valerie.bourdes@galderma.com.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bourdès
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bettoli
authors.affiliation: Galderma R & D, Sophia Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Petit
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Western Ontario, Windsor, Canada.
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tan
keywords: Acne; Atrophic scar; Patient-reported outcome measure; Quality of life; Scar assessment