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The following is a summary of “Development of the symptomatic dermographism quality of life questionnaire,” published in the February 2025 issue of Clinical and Translational Allergy by Muñoz et al. 

Symptomatic Dermographism (SD), the most common subtype of chronic inducible urticaria, causes itch and wheals after minor skin irritation, significantly impacting patients’ quality of life (QoL), but no dedicated QoL instrument exists to assess this impairment.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to develop the first disease-specific patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) to assess QoL impairment in patients with SD.  

They developed the SD-QoL in accordance with current guidelines for PROM development. Initially, a conceptual framework for the SD-QoL was created, followed by an item generation phase, and subsequently, an item selection/reduction phase.  

The results showed 69 potential items for the SD-QoL were generated through a combined approach of literature review, expert input, and semi-structured interviews with affected patients. After conducting impact analysis, inter-item correlation, and expert content review for face validity, the item set was reduced to a final 13-item version. Additionally, a U.S.-English version of the SD-QoL was developed through a structured translation process.  

Investigators concluded the SD-QoL was the first disease-specific QoL instrument for SD with a 7-day recall period, enabling QoL assessment in patients with SD. 

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/clt2.70038