• Br. J. Dermatol. · Oct 2009

    Objective scoring of hidradenitis suppurativa reflecting the role of tobacco smoking and obesity.

    • K Sartorius, L Emtestam, G B E Jemec, and J Lapins.
    • Section of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, SE-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden. karin.sartorius@karolinska.se
    • Br. J. Dermatol. 2009 Oct 1; 161 (4): 831-9.

    BackgroundHidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a long-standing disease with abscess and often fistula formation, predominantly in the axillae and groins. The disease is difficult to treat and has a severe impact on quality of life. A clinically relevant system for scoring disease severity is lacking in HS.ObjectivesTo evaluate the modified Hidradenitis Suppurativa Score (HSS) and to study the impact of body mass index (BMI) and smoking habits on disease severity.MethodsTwo hundred and fifty-one consecutive patients with HS referred to a clinic with special interest in the disease were included, of whom 115 were scored. Points were given for regions involved, types of lesion (nodules, fistulas), total area involved and whether lesions were separated by normal skin. Background characteristics included BMI and smoking habits. Two hundred and forty-six patients completed the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI).ResultsThe median (interquartile range, IQR) HSS for all patients was 38 (18-66): women 38 (18-71) and men 37 (19-51). Median (IQR) HSS for smokers was 41 (22-75.5), former smokers 27 (16-53) and nonsmokers 22 (10-57). Median (IQR) HSS for patients with BMI < 25 kg m(-2) was 32 (12-54), BMI 25-30 kg m(-2) 44 (22-56) and BMI > or = 30 kg m(-2) 50 (18-86). Mean +/- SD DLQI for the whole group of patients was 10.3 +/- 7.5, median 9, and showed no significant differences between the groups studied. There was a significant positive correlation of fair degree between HSS and DLQI. There were significant differences in HSS between nonsmokers and smokers as well as between women of normal weight compared with obese women.ConclusionsThe modified HSS is simple and practical and it extracts important clinical information. A connection between disease severity and BMI as well as smoking habits in patients with HS is presented. The results suggest that the HSS may be a relevant outcome measure in future therapeutic trials in HS.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…