A review of scar assessment scales.

A review of scar assessment scales.
Semin Cutan Med Surg. 2015 Mar;34(1):28-36
Authors: Nguyen TA, Feldstein SI, Shumaker PR, Krakowski AC
Abstract
At our current level of understanding, scars are an unavoidable result of disruption of the integument following trauma and other sources of injury in the postnatal period. Millions of people worldwide suffer from diminished quality of life due to varying degrees of disfigurement, functional impairment, and psychosocial comorbidity. Scars also represent a significant financial burden to the healthcare system at large. Substantial momentum currently exists in scar research associated with innovative techniques and devices devoted to treating scars. In order to properly ascertain and compare responses to various therapies, accurate and reproducible qualitative and quantitative assessments are vital. At least 10 different scar assessment scales and tools have been created to date in an attempt to quantify scar severity. However, a "gold standard" scar scale still does not yet exist. A major limitation of most scar scales is their focus on a relatively narrow group of individual subjective and objective features, while failing to address the overall cosmetic, functional, and psychological sequelae. Herein, we provide a brief review of current scar assessment scales, discuss some of the major advantages and limitations of each, and introduce several characteristics that might be addressed in a...

Source: Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery - May 2, 2015 Category: Dermatology Tags: Semin Cutan Med Surg Source Type: research