The following is a summary of “Measuring asymmetry in facial morphea via 3-dimensional stereophotogrammetry,” published in the JANUARY 2023 issue of Dermatology by Abbas, et al.
It was difficult to measure tissue loss in craniofacial morphea objectively. A potential addition would be 3-dimensional (3D) stereophotogrammetry, a non-invasive method. For a study, researchers sought to investigate 3D stereophotogrammetry in the evaluation of craniofacial linear morphea prospectively.
Clinical, quality-of-life, and 3D-stereophotogrammetry evaluations were performed on the participants. By two professionals and two non-experts, traditional pictures and 3D-stereophotogrammetry images were categorized as mild, moderate, or severe. Also computed (on delayed rescoring) were interrater and intrarater dependability.
About 14 (20.6%) of 23 individuals with craniofacial morphea had pathologic asymmetry, according to 3D stereophotogrammetry. When utilizing 3D stereophotogrammetry against conventional images, doctors judged patients’ conditions as more severe in 19% of cases (19% severe on 3D stereophotogrammetry vs. 0% severe on conventional photographs, P =.004). High levels of inter- and intrarater dependability were found when professionals and non-experts alike rated conventional and 3D pictures qualitatively. In addition to the 3D-stereophotogrammetry assessments (median, mild: 27.5 vs. moderate: 46.5 vs. severe: 64, P =.0152), doctors’ Global Assessment of Damage scores were linked with mouth asymmetry (P =.0021), cheek asymmetry (P =.04), and mouth symmetry. Poorer quality-of-life ratings were linked (P =.013) with lower facial asymmetry.
With greater sensitivity than that shown with conventional evaluation alone, 3D stereophotogrammetry can consistently identify and measure asymmetry in craniofacial morphea with greater sensitivity than that shown with conventional evaluation alone. Clinical evaluation may benefit from the addition of 3D stereophotogrammetry.
Reference: jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(22)00824-6/fulltext
