Patient-physician consensus on quality of life in dermatology

Abstract

This study was undertaken in order to establish the correlation between physician-assessed and patient self-reported quality of life (QOL) when using a proposed Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) in a random sample of 51 dermatological out-patients and in-patients. A substantial correlation was found between physician scores and DLQI (r 2 = 0.306, P < 0.001), suggesting that the DLQI can be used to assess QOL and general morbidity. Comparison of the observed and ideal patient-physician consensus suggests that patients with relatively benign or quiescent disease may over-estimate disease impact, while dermatological patients with more malign or aggressive disease may underestimate it compared with the physician estimate.