Classification of psoriasis severity depends on definition

(HealthDay)—Depending on the definition used, there are large variations in the proportion of patients identified as having moderate-to-severe psoriasis, according to a study published in the December issue of the British Journal of Dermatology.

Matthias Augustin, M.D., from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, and colleagues analyzed disease severity using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) among 3,274 patients with psoriasis from more than 200 dermatology offices and clinics across Germany.

The researchers found that 14 percent of patients met the European consensus criteria for moderate-to-severe psoriasis (both PASI and DLQI >10). However, 45.3 percent reached >10 on either the PASI or DLQI. Accounting for patients receiving systemic drugs as having "moderate-to-severe" disease increased these proportions to 56.9 percent using the definition PASI and DLQI >10 and to 75.2 percent using the definition PASI or DLQI >10. When only PASI >10 was used as the definition, moderate-to-severe disease affected 35.3 percent, which increased to 69.3 percent when accounting for patients receiving systemic drugs.

"We propose an international standardization in this for the sake of more reliable treatment and health care planning," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.