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COPYRIGHT 2003 International Medical News Group
Evaluating psoriasis assessment tools
Since its introduction, the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) has become one of the accepted standards for measuring psoriasis severity and treatment response in clinical trials. (1) A patient's PASI score is calculated using a mathematical formula that assesses the clinical characteristics of erythema, induration, and desquamation, as well as lesion location arid extent of body site involvement. PASI does not take into account such clinically relevant parameters as patient self-assessment, impact of disease, and other important qualitative factors. (1, 2) In most psoriasis clinical trials, the primary efficacy endpoint for a clinically significant response is the percent of patients achieving a [greater than or equal to] 75% reduction in PASI within a prespecified timeframe.
However, many physicians on the leading edge of psoriasis research are beginning to question the clinical utility of PASI 75 and its place as the "gold standard" among psoriasis assessment tools. Some dermatologists believe that PASI 75 may be either too stringent or too narrow a standard by which to evaluate the full...
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