Patient-reported outcome measures used in clinical trials of atopic dermatitis (AD) and chronic hand eczema (CHE) include the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), the Pruritus/Itch Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM), and the Quality of Life in Hand Eczema Questionnaire (QOLHEQ). |
The concepts most commonly evaluated in clinical studies of AD and CHE are symptoms (particularly pruritus), dermatology-related quality of life in the domains of daily activities, leisure, work and school, and personal relationships, and sleep disturbance. |
In line with general trends in regulatory labeling, the US Food and Drug Administration has accepted PRO label claims for AD products related to pruritus, the key patient-reported symptom, while the EMA has accepted PRO label claims related to pruritus, dermatology-related quality of life, and the frequency of AD symptoms and sleep disturbance. |
1 Introduction
2 Methods
3 Results
3.1 Structured Literature Review
Measure | Published clinical studies | ClinicalTrials.gov ID | Drug label |
---|---|---|---|
AD | |||
DLQI | NCT01945086 NCT01806662 NCT02576938 NCT02260986 NCT02755649 NCT02277769 NCT01949311 NCT02004041 NCT02004119 NCT02211417 NCT02925117 | Dupilumab, EMA Tacrolimus, EMA | |
Pruritus NRS | NCT02576938 NCT02525094 NCT02347176 NCT02260986 NCT02395133 NCT02755649 NCT02277769 NCT01979016 NCT02210780 NCT01949311 NCT02975206 NCT02424253 NCT02087943 NCT02864498 NCT02925117 NCT02780167 | Dupilumab, FDA and EMA | |
EQ-5D | Simpson et al. [32] | NCT01949311 | |
POEM | NCT02260986 NCT02755649 NCT02277769 NCT01979016 NCT02210780 NCT01949311 NCT02211417 | Dupilumab, EMA | |
Pruritus VAS | NCT01986933 NCT02004041 NCT02651714 NCT01916980 NCT02004119 NCT02211417 NCT02475447 | Tacrolimus, FDA | |
HADS | NCT02260986 NCT02755649 NCT02277769 | Dupilumab, EMA | |
Pruritus VRS | Ruzicka and Mihara [33] | NCT02004041 | |
Patient global assessment | NCT02004041 | ||
5-D Itch Scale | Beck et al. [45] | NCT02525094 | |
SF-36 | Poole et al. [66] | ||
Preference rating for topical formulation | Onumah and Kircik [59] | ||
Pain NRS | Onumah and Kircik [59] | ||
Redness VRS | Luger et al. [60] | ||
Stinging/burning NRS | Trookman and Rizer [61] | ||
Sleep VAS | Ruzicka and Mihara [33] | ||
AD disease control VRS | Leung et al. [65] | ||
Bergner Physical Appearance Scale | Boguniewicz et al. [58] | ||
Missed work report | Boguniewicz et al. [58] | ||
Treatment satisfaction VRS | Reitamo and Allsopp [56] | ||
CHE | |||
Patient global assessment | NCT03026946 NCT03026907 | Alitretinoin, UK, Canada, and Israel country-specific reviews | |
Pruritus VRS | Hordinsky et al. [46] | ||
DLQI | Ruzicka et al. [42] | ||
Skindex-29 | Fowler et al. [68] | ||
Pruritus VAS | Dirschka et al. [67] | ||
Pain VAS | Dirschka et al. [67] | ||
Burning VRS | Hordinsky et al. [46] |
3.2 Regulatory Label Review
Drug/PRO measure | Indication | Claim language | PRO results in label/DAP |
---|---|---|---|
Dupixent (dupilumab) Peak Pruritus NRS | Indicated for adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis whose disease is not adequately controlled with topical prescription therapies or when those therapies are not advisable | All three trials assessed … reduction in itch as defined by at least a 4-point improvement in the Peak Pruritus NRS from baseline to week 16 | Label: “Other endpoints included the … reduction in itch as defined by at least a 4-point improvement in the Peak Pruritus NRS from baseline to week 16” Percentage of subjects with improvement in Peak Pruritus NRS ≥ 4 points for each of three trials, for the dupilumab and placebo groups, with no indication of statistical significance |
Protopic (tacrolimus) Pruritus (VAS based on the DAP medical review) | Second-line therapy for the short-term and noncontinuous chronic treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in non-immunocompromised adults and children who have not responded adequately to other topical prescription treatments for atopic dermatitis, or when those treatments are not advisable | In both the Protopic ointment treatment groups in adults and the Protopic ointment 0.03% treatment group in pediatric patients, a significantly greater improvement compared with vehicle (p < 0.001) was observed in the secondary efficacy endpoints of percentage body surface area involved, patient evaluation of pruritus, erythema, edema, excoriation, oozing, scaling, and lichenification | Label: No further results on pruritus improvement in the label DAP medical review: “The amount and intensity of pruritus experienced during the previous 24-h period was assessed using a 10-cm VAS, where 0 cm = ‘no itch’ and 10 cm = ‘worst itch imaginable’ |
Elidel (pimecrolimus) Pruritus (assessment not described in the label or DAP) | Elidel (pimecrolimus) cream 1% is indicated as second-line therapy for the short-term and noncontinuous chronic treatment of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis in non-immunocompromised adults and children 2 years of age and older, who have not responded adequately to other topical prescription treatments, or when those treatments are not advisable | The improvement in pruritus occurred in conjunction with the improvement of the patients’ atopic dermatitis | Label: More Elidel patients (57%) had mild or no pruritus at 6 weeks compared with vehicle patients (34%) [Means of assessing this outcome not reported] |
Drug/PRO measure/agency or country | Indication | Claim language | PRO results in label |
---|---|---|---|
Dupixent (dupilumab) Pruritus NRS POEM DLQI HADS EMA | For adult patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis who are candidates for systemic therapy | Relative to placebo, dupilumab significantly improved patient-reported symptoms (as indicated by a Pruritus NRS) and improved sleep and health-related quality of life as indicated by the POEM and DLQI total scores Anxiety and depression symptoms as indicated by the HADS total score were significantly reduced with dupilumab relative to placebo | In two placebo-controlled trials of dupilumab monotherapy and one placebo-controlled trial of dupilumab + a topical corticosteroid, patients experienced significant improvement in patient-reported symptoms, sleep, health-related quality of life, anxiety, and depression with dupilumab relative to placebo |
Protopic (tacrolimus) DLQI and CDLQI EMA | Adults and adolescents (16 years of age and above): For the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in adults who are not adequately responsive to or are intolerant of conventional therapies such as topical corticosteroids Children (2 years of age and above): For the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in children who did not respond adequately to conventional therapies such as topical corticosteroids Maintenance treatment Treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis for the prevention of flares and the prolongation of flare-free intervals in patients experiencing a high frequency of disease exacerbations (i.e. occurring four or more times per year) who have had an initial response to a maximum of 6 weeks treatment of twice-daily tacrolimus ointment (lesions cleared, almost cleared or mildly affected) | Both the Investigator’s Global Assessment score and Dermatology Life Quality Index were superior for tacrolimus versus placebo All five phase III comparative studies showed improvements in QOL as determined using the DLQI and CDLQI | All five phase III comparative studies showed improvements in QOL as determined using the DLQI and CDLQI In general, treatment differences paralleled the results for the efficacy endpoints (EPAR, Scientific Discussion) |
Toctino (alitretinoin) PaGA UK | For use in adults who have severe CHE that is unresponsive to treatment with potent topical corticosteroids Patients in whom the eczema has predominantly hyperkeratotic features are more likely to respond to treatment than those in whom the eczema predominantly presents as pompholyx | PaGA was a secondary endpoint; numerical results were presented but not interpreted (no p value given) | NA |
Toctino (alitretinoin) PaGA Canada | For the treatment of severe CHE refractory to high-potency topical corticosteroids in adults | Product monograph names PaGA as a secondary endpoint; numerical results presented but not interpreted (no p value given) | NA |
Toctino (alitretinoin) PaGA Israel | For use in adults who have severe CHE that is unresponsive to treatment with potent topical corticosteroids | Label lists PaGA as a secondary endpoint; numerical results were presented but not interpreted (no p value given) | NA |
3.3 Detailed Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Review
Characteristic | DLQI | Pruritus NRS | POEM | QOLHEQ |
---|---|---|---|---|
Type of measure | Dermatology-specific HRQOL | Single item assessing itch/pruritus with an NRS | AD-specific symptoms and sleep interference | Hand eczema-specific HRQOL |
Concepts assessed | Dermatology-related HRQOL over the previous week (10 items); total score and six subscores: Symptoms and feelings Daily activities Leisure Work and school Personal relationships Adverse effects of treatment | Single item, 0–10 NRS with anchors, 0 = no itch and 10 = worst imaginable itch; assessed related to the past 24 h Multiple-item wording possibilities, for example itch severity, itch frequency, itch intensity | Frequency of AD symptoms and sleep interference during the past week (7 items): Dryness Itching Flaking Cracking Sleep disturbance Bleeding Weeping/oozing | CHE-related HRQOL during the past 7 days 4 domains (30 items) Symptoms Emotions Functioning Treatment and prevention |
Value messages | Improved skin condition-related quality of life | Reduction in itch severity, frequency, intensity (depending on item wording) | Improvement in symptoms and sleep disturbance associated with AD | Improved symptoms, emotional reaction, functioning, or reduction in burden of treatment and prevention |
Development population | 120 patients with skin conditions (including 9 with AD, and 10 with ‘other eczema’) | None identified | Adult and pediatric AD patients | Patients with CHE |
Responsiveness in clinical trials | AD: Basra et al. [22] reported that the DLQI had been used in 33 efficacy studies in AD between 1994 and 2007, and that the DLQI detected change in patients before and after treatment in moderate-to-severe AD CHE: Not responsive in one clinical trial of alitretinoin | Was included in two dupilumab AD trials in adults and statistically significant between-group differences were found in each study | Was included in three dupilumab AD trials in adults and statistically significant between-group differences were found in each study | Not identified |
Methods used for interpretation of scores/change in scores | One study used an anchor-based method to estimate a threshold for meaningful change in a sample of 192 patients with different skin diseases, including eczema (12.5%; CHE not reported). The study demonstrated that a small change (2–3 points on a 15-point Patient Global Rating of Change scale) was associated with a mean DLQI change score of 3.3 [30]. The authors recommended a threshold of 4 points for evaluating meaningful change in DLQI scores over time | The dupilumab phase III studies used a responder analysis such that patients with a reduction of 4 or more points in the weekly average of the daily NRS score were considered responders A change of 4 points has been identified as the minimum change demonstrating clinically meaningful improvement in a psoriasis population [44] | 4-point change represents a clinically meaningful difference [48] | Developers calculated the SRD as 13.3, indicating that a change of 11.2% of the scale would result in a statistically significant improvement. For the subscales, SRD values were 3.2 for Symptoms, 4.2 for Emotions, 4.1 for Functioning, and 3.4 for Treatment/Prevention |
Psychometric Property | DLQI | Pruritus NRS | POEM | QOLHEQ | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AD | CHE | Pruritic conditions | AD | CHE | |
Internal consistencya | ✔ | ✔ | NA | ✔ | ✔ |
Test–retest reliabilityb | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Content validityc | ✔ | NR | NRh | ✔ | ✔ |
Construct validity, convergentd | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Construct validity, divergentd | NR | NR | NR | NR | ✔ |
Discriminant validitye | ✔ | ✔ | NR | NR | ✔ |
Responsiveness, longitudinal validation studyf | ✔ | NR | NR | ✔ | ✔ |
Responsiveness, RCTg | ✔ | – | ✔ | ✔ | NR |