The Relationship Between Dermatologist- and Patient-Reported Acne Severity Measures and Treatment Recommendations

• Published in: Journal of cutaneous medicine and surgery Vol. 19; no. 5; p. 464
• Main Authors: Tan, Jerry, Frey, Marc P, Knezevic, Sanja, Poulin, Yves, Lynde, Charles W, Gulliver, Wayne P, Gupta, Aditya K, Sebaldt, Rolf J, Thomas, David R, Sapra, Sheetal
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.09.2015
• Subjects: Acne Vulgaris - diagnosis; Acne Vulgaris - pathology; Acne Vulgaris - psychology; Canada; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Physician-Patient Relations; Physicians; Quality of Life - psychology; Severity of Illness Index; Canada; acne; dermatology
• ISSN: 1203-4754
• DOI: 10.1177/1203475415576464

Acne treatment recommendations for individual patients may be derived from multiple factors including dermatologist- and patient-reported constructs. To evaluate the effects of dermatologist- and patient-reported measures on acne treatment recommendations by dermatologists. An observational cross-sectional survey of acne patients was conducted with patient-reported quality of life and dermatologist-reported measures of primary and secondary (scar) acne severity using 3 assessment approaches: maximal regional grade, total grade, and facial grade. The most highly associated factors with acne treatment recommendations were patient emotions, maximal regional acne severity, and total acne scar grade. Better acne-specific quality of life was negatively related to acne treatment recommendation intensity, while all 3 grading approaches were positively related to acne treatment recommendations. For dermatologists, overall acne severity is most highly associated with maximal regional acne grade, total scar grade, and patient's emotional response to acne.