The eczema area and severity index (EASI): assessment of reliability in atopic dermatitis

Objective - To test the reliability of the eczema area and severity index ( EASI) scoring system by assessing inter- and intra-observer consistency. De sign: Training of evaluators, application, and assessment over 2 consecutiv e days. Setting - An academic center. Patients - Twenty adults and children with atopic dermatitis (AD); cohort 1 (10 patients rs years) and cohort 2 (10 patients <8 years). Interventions - None. Main outcome measure - The EA SI was used by 15 dermatologist evaluators to assess atopic dermatitis in c ohort 1 and cohort 2 on 2 consecutive days. Inter- and intraobserver reliab ility were analyzed. Results - Overall intra-evaluator reliability of the E ASI was in the fair-to-good range. Inter-evaluator reliability analyses ind icated that the evaluators assessed the patients consistently across both s tudy days. Conclusions - This study demonstrated that the EASI can be learn ed quickly and utilized reliably in the assessment of severity and extent o f AD. There was consistency among the evaluators between consecutive days o f evaluation. These results support the use of the EASI in clinical trials of therapeutic agents for AD.