Sensitivity to treatment and score bands of the Infants and Toddlers Dermatology Quality of Life questionnaire

Pavel V Chernyshov; Servando E Marron; Michael J Boffa; Nives Pustišek; Liana Manolache; Talia Kakourou; Monique Cachia; Tetiana Svyatenko; Dimitra Koumaki; Andrii V Chernyshov; Lucia Tomas-Aragones

doi:10.1016/j.jdin.2022.11.009

Sensitivity to treatment and score bands of the Infants and Toddlers Dermatology Quality of Life questionnaire

JAAD Int. 2022 Nov 25:10:61-67. doi: 10.1016/j.jdin.2022.11.009. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology and Venereology, National Medical University, Kiev, Ukraine.
² Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Miguel Servet, Aragon Psychodermatology Research Group (GAI+PD), Zaragoza, Spain.
³ Department of Dermatology, Mater Dei Hospital, Msida, Malta.
⁴ Children's Hospital Zagreb, Medical School, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
⁵ Dermatology, Dali Medical, Bucharest, Romania.
⁶ First Pediatric Department of Athens University, Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece.
⁷ Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases, Dnipro State Medical University, Dnipro, Ukraine.
⁸ Department of Dermatology and Venereology, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
⁹ Department of Cellular Radiobiology, State Institution "National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine", Kiev, Ukraine.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.

Abstract

Background: The Infants and Toddlers Dermatology Quality of Life (InToDermQoL) questionnaire is the first dermatology-specific proxy health related QoL instrument for children from birth to 4 years. Score meaning bands and the sensitivity to successful therapeutic intervention are important to interpret the clinical meaning of an instrument.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to check the sensitivity to successful therapeutic intervention and establish score bands of the InToDermQoL questionnaire.

Methods: Parents or grandparents of 424 children with skin diseases from Spain, Malta, Croatia, Romania, Greece, and Ukraine filled in national language versions of the InToDermQoL questionnaire. Disease severity of children with atopic dermatitis was assessed by SCORAD (Scoring atopic dermatitis). Cohen's d was used to assess the responsiveness of the instrument.

Results: The mean total InToDermQoL scores significantly decreased after treatment. Severity grading of the SCORAD scores gave stratification of the InToDermQoL severity grades based on 95% confidence intervals. Scores below a calculated minimal important difference of 2 corresponded to no effect on patient's health related QoL.

Limitations: Score banding may be slightly different across patient population and study context.

Conclusion: All 3 age-specific versions of the InToDermQoL questionnaire showed sensitivity to treatment. Score bands for the InToDermQoL questionnaire have been established.

Keywords: COVID-19, coronavirus disease of 2019; DLQI, Dermatology Life Quality Index; HRQoL, health related quality of life; InToDermQoL, Infants and Toddlers Dermatology Quality of Life; M, mean; MID, minimally important difference; SCORAD, scoring of atopic dermatitis; SD, standard deviation; patient-reported outcome measures; pediatric dermatology; quality of life; severity banding; treatment.