Itching in Atopic Dermatitis: Patient- and Physician-reported Outcomes in the German Atopic Dermatitis Registry TREATgermany

Authors

  • Elke Weisshaar Occupational Dermatology, Department of Dermatology, University of Heidelberg
  • Philipp Bentz Occupational Dermatology, Department of Dermatology, University of Heidelberg https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6474-192X
  • Christian Apfelbacher Institute of Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Institute for Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine/Medical Sociology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3805-8219
  • Eva Haufe Center of Evidence-based Healthcare, University Hospital and Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden
  • Luise Heinrich 4. Center of Evidence-based Healthcare, University Hospital and Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden
  • Annice Heratizadeh Division of Immunodermatology and Allergy Research, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover
  • Susanne Abraham Department of Dermatology, University Allergy Center, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7457-6481
  • Inken Harder Center for Inflammatory Skin Diseases, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3079-0440
  • Andreas Kleinheinz Clinics for Dermatology, Elbe Klinikum Buxtehude https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0379-4403
  • Andreas Wollenberg Clinics and Outpatient Clinics for Dermatology and Allergy, LMU Munich https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0177-8722
  • Knut Schäkel Department of Dermatology, University of Heidelberg https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6344-7799
  • Franca Wiemers Practice Dr. med. Franca Wiemers, Leipzig
  • Julia Ertner Practice Dr. med. Konstantin Ertner, Nuernberg
  • Matthias Augustin Institute for Health Services Research in Dermatology, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4026-8728
  • Julia Wildberger Practice Dr. med. Julia Wildberger, Hautmedizin, Bad Soden
  • Ralph von Kiedrowski Focus Practice for chronic inflammatory dermatoses, skin cancer and allergology and also Study Center CMS3 (Company for Medical Study and Service), Selters/Westerwald
  • Margitta Worm Department of Dermatology, Allergy and Venereology, Charité Berlin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3449-1245
  • Alexander Zink https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9313-6588
  • Isaak Effendy Department of Dermatology, OWL University Hospital of Bielefeld University, Campus Clinic Bielefeld https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8293-6616
  • Andrea Asmussen Practice Dr. med. Andrea Asmussen, Dermatology at Lesum, Bremen
  • Mario Pawlak Practice Dr. med. Anika Hünermund and Mario Pawlak, Heiligenstadt
  • Michael Sticherling 21. Department of Dermatology, German Center for Immunotherapy, University of Erlangen https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9396-3938
  • Melanie Hilgers Clinics for Dermatology and Allergy, University Hospital Aachen
  • Christiane Handrick Practice Dr. med. Christiane Handrick, Berlin
  • Sven Quist Dermatology Clinic, Helix Medical Excellence Center, Mainz https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9548-7813
  • Beate Schwarz Practice Dr. med. Beate Schwarz, Langenau
  • Magnus Bell Practice Dr. med. Magnus Bell, Andernach
  • Petra Staubach-Renz Clinic for Dermatology, University Hospital, Mainz https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2276-0284
  • Sung-Hei Hong-Weldemann Practice Dr. med. Sung-Hei Hong-Weldemann, Freiburg
  • Bernhard Homey Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital Duesseldorf https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5784-4146
  • Jens-Joachim Brücher Practice Dr. med. Jens-Joachim Brücher, Hautambulatorium Magdeburg
  • Stephan Weidinger Center for Inflammatory Skin Diseases, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3944-252X
  • Thomas Werfel Division of Immunodermatology and Allergy Research, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover
  • Jochen Schmitt Center of Evidence-based Healthcare, University Hospital and Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0264-0960

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2340/actadv.v103.4426

Keywords:

EASI, POEM, Pruiritus, Quality of Life, Registry

Abstract

TREATgermany is an investigator-initiated prospective disease registry. It investigates physician- and patient-reported disease severity (Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI), objective Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (oSCORAD), Investigator Global Assessment, Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM), Patient Global Assessment (PGA)), patient-reported symptoms (itch, sleep loss, depressive symptoms), therapy courses and dermatological quality of life (DLQI) in moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis with SCORAD > 20. 1,134 atopic dermatitis patients (mean age 41.0 ± 14.7 years, 42.5% females) were enrolled by 40 German recruiting sites (dermatological clinics and practices) between June 2016 and April 2021. The current analysis focuses on itch scores obtained with a numerical rating scale (NRS)) documented for the previous 3 days prior to baseline visit. The results show that 97.2% (1,090 of 1,121) patients experienced itch. Itch severity correlated moderately with severity of atopic dermatitis oSCORAD (rho = 0.44 (0.39–0.48)) and EASI score (rho = 0.41 (0.36–0.46)). A strong correlation was found with self-reported disease severity as PGA (rho = 0.68 (0.65–0.71)), POEM sum score (rho = 0.66 (0.63–0.69)) and dermatological quality of life impairment DLQI (rho = 0.61 (0.57–0.65)). Itch as a subjective complaint is more closely correlated with patient-reported outcomes than with objective assessments by the physician.

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Published

2023-01-23

How to Cite

Weisshaar, E., Bentz, P., Apfelbacher, C., Haufe, E., Heinrich, L., Heratizadeh, A. ., Abraham, S., Harder, I., Kleinheinz, A., Wollenberg, A., Schäkel, K., Wiemers, F., Ertner, J., Augustin, M., Wildberger, J., von Kiedrowski, R., Worm, M., Zink, A., Effendy, I., Asmussen, A., Pawlak, M., Sticherling, M. ., Hilgers, M., Handrick, C., Quist, S., Schwarz, B., Bell, M., Staubach-Renz, P., Hong-Weldemann, S.-H., Homey, B., Brücher, J.-J., Weidinger, S., Werfel, T., & Schmitt, J. (2023). Itching in Atopic Dermatitis: Patient- and Physician-reported Outcomes in the German Atopic Dermatitis Registry TREATgermany. Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 103, adv00854. https://doi.org/10.2340/actadv.v103.4426

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Vol. 103 (2023)

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Copyright (c) 2023 Elke Weisshaar, Philipp Bentz, Christian Apfelbacher, Eva Haufe, Luise Heinrich, Annice Heratizadeh, Susanne Abraham, Inken Harder, Andreas Kleinheinz, Andreas Wollenberg, Knut Schäkel, Franca Wiemers, Julia Ertner, Matthias Augustin, Julia Wildberger, Ralph von Kiedrowski, Margitta Worm, Alexander Zink, Isaak Effendy, Andrea Asmussen, Mario Pawlak, Michael Sticherling, Melanie Hilgers, Christiane Handrick, Sven Quist, Beate Schwarz, Magnus Bell, Petra Staubach-Renz, Sung-Hei Hong-Weldemann, Bernhard Homey, Jens-Joachim Brücher, Stephan Weidinger, Thomas Werfel, Jochen Schmitt

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