Special Interest Group 'Scoring Itch in Clinical Trials'
Members of the Initiative Pruritusparameter
|
Chronic pruritus (itch lasting longer than six weeks) is a frequently occurring symptom that affects people of all ages, resulting in severe limitations to quality of life (1). In 2010, pruritus was listed as one of the 50 most common diseases worldwide (2.) Treatment of chronic pruritus remains challenging. It is thus essential to test new and urgently needed antipruritic substances in high quality clinical trials using reliable instruments. However, pruritus remains a multidimensional, subjective symptom for which, until now, there has been no widely accepted, standardized and validated assessment method (3).
The collection of pruritus-related data is based on patient-reported outcome (PRO) tools. The affected patients are asked to report on their individual pruritus intensity, quality, localization, duration, course, and scratching behavior, as well as provide interindividual variations regarding the impact on quality of life, sleep disturbances and psychosomatic factors. Finding a suitable tool for this task is not only important in the context of clinical trials, but also that of clinical practice. In order to validate instruments for measuring pruritus in clinical trials and improve the quality of collected PROs, the special interest group Scoring Itch in Clinical Trials was established in 2008 and consists of members of the International Forum for the Study of Itch (IFSI) (4). In Germany, members of the Initiative Pruritusparameter (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Pruritus [AGP]) are concerned with the use of proper measuring instruments for patients with pruritus (5). |
References:
1. Pereira MP, Ständer S. Assessment of severity and burden of pruritus. Allergol Int. 2017 Jan;66(1):3-7. Epub 2016 Sep 12. Review.
2. Hay RJ, Johns NE, Williams HC, Bolliger IW, Dellavalle RP, Margolis DJ, Marks R, Naldi L, Weinstock MA, Wulf SK, Michaud C, J L Murray C, Naghavi M. The global burden of skin disease in 2010: an analysis of the prevalence and impact of skin conditions. J Invest Dermatol. 2014 Jun;134(6):1527-34.
3. Ständer S. Classification of Itch. Curr Probl Dermatol. 2016;50:1-4. doi: 10.1159/000446009. Epub 2016 Aug 23. Review.
4. Ständer S, Augustin M, Reich A, Blome C, Ebata T, Phan NQ, Szepietowski JC. International Forum for the Study of Itch Special Interest Group Scoring Itch in Clinical Trials. Acta Derm Venereol. 2013 Sep 4;93(5):509-14. International Forum for the Study of Itch (IFSI).
5. http://www.itchforum.net/Arbeitsgemeinschaft Pruritus. http://www.pruritus-forschung.de/
2. Hay RJ, Johns NE, Williams HC, Bolliger IW, Dellavalle RP, Margolis DJ, Marks R, Naldi L, Weinstock MA, Wulf SK, Michaud C, J L Murray C, Naghavi M. The global burden of skin disease in 2010: an analysis of the prevalence and impact of skin conditions. J Invest Dermatol. 2014 Jun;134(6):1527-34.
3. Ständer S. Classification of Itch. Curr Probl Dermatol. 2016;50:1-4. doi: 10.1159/000446009. Epub 2016 Aug 23. Review.
4. Ständer S, Augustin M, Reich A, Blome C, Ebata T, Phan NQ, Szepietowski JC. International Forum for the Study of Itch Special Interest Group Scoring Itch in Clinical Trials. Acta Derm Venereol. 2013 Sep 4;93(5):509-14. International Forum for the Study of Itch (IFSI).
5. http://www.itchforum.net/Arbeitsgemeinschaft Pruritus. http://www.pruritus-forschung.de/