Clinical scores for sleep loss, pruritus correlate well with each other and with disease severity, QoL
WEDNESDAY, April 13, 2016 (HealthDay News) — For children with atopic dermatitis, clinical scores for sleep loss, pruritus, disease severity, and quality of life correlate well, according to a study published online April 8 in the British Journal of Dermatology.
Kam-Lun Ellis Hon, M.B.B.S., M.D., from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues examined correlations among three clinical scores for sleep loss, pruritus, disease severity, and quality of life in patients aged 5 to 18 years with atopic dermatitis. Severity and symptomatology was measured with SCORAD index; longer-term measurement was with the Nottingham Eczema Severity Score (NESS), and quality of life was assessed with the Children Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI).
The researchers observed a correlation for the extent of sleep loss measured by the three clinical scores (P < 0.001). The best correlation was seen for sleep loss by SCORAD index and sleep disturbance by NESS (P < 0.001). Correlations were also seen for itch measured in the three clinical scores (P < 0.001). There was a correlation for sleep loss and itch (P < 0.001). Positive associations were seen for sleep loss and for itch with NESS, SCORAD index, and CDLQI (all P < 0.001). Antihistamine use correlated with all clinical parameters of sleep loss, pruritus, disease severity, and CDLQI.
“Sleep loss is common among patients with eczema, and correlated with itch, disease severity, quality of life, and antihistamine usage,” the authors write. “No one single score performs better than the other but it seems the single question ‘sleep disturbance/itch by NESS’ represents the best all-round scores in terms of its good correlations with other clinical scores.”
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