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Inter- And Intra-Physician Variation In Quantifying Actinic Keratosis Skin Photodamage, Benjamin Schmeusser, Christina E. Borchers, Jeffrey B. Travers, Samia Borchers, Justin Trevino, Max Rubin, Heidi Donnelly, Karl Kellawan, Lydia Carpenter, Shalini Bahl, Craig A. Rohan, Elizabeth Muennich, Scott Guenthner, Holly Hahn, Ali Rkein, Marc Darst, Nico Mousdicas, Elizabeth E. Cates, Ulas Sunar, Trevor J. Bihl

Dermatology Faculty Publications

We investigated the variations in physician evaluation of skin photodamage based on a published photodamage scale. Of interest is the utility of a 10-level scale ranging from none and mild photodamage to actinic keratosis (AK). The dorsal forearms of 55 adult subjects with various amounts of photodamage were considered. Each forearm was independently evaluated by 15 board-certified dermatologists according to the Global Assessment Severity Scale ranging from 0 (less severe) to 9 (the most progressed stage of skin damage). Dermatologists rated the levels of photodamage based upon the photographs in blinded fashion. Results show substantial disagreement amongst the dermatologists on …