Degree Name
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
Document Type
Major Paper
School
Zvart Onanian School of Nursing
Department
Nursing
Date of Original Version
May 2022
Abstract
Plaque psoriasis is an autoimmune disease of the immune system affecting many adults worldwide. Due to the inflammatory nature of the disease, adults with psoriasis are at higher risk for thromboembolic events including heart attack and stroke. Treatment options are offered based on the severity of disease and may have implications for reducing cardiovascular disease. Selecting a clinically validated tool to measure the performance of a treatment or therapy has implications for research and clinical practice and therefore it is important to understand the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of measures used to describe the severity of illness in patients affected by psoriasis. Systematic reviews are research reviews that combine the evidence of multiple studies related to a specific clinical problem to inform clinical practice (Whittemore & Knafl, 2005). This systematic review of the literature examined the clinically validated tools used in large randomized controlled trials within the past ten years. The results of this study found that authors of major studies evaluating the effectiveness of treatment on adults with psoriasis used a combination of clinically validated tools to determine the severity of disease. The instruments chosen include the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), the Static Physicians Global Assessment (sPGA), and Body Surface Area (BSA).
Recommended Citation
Bergeson, Carl Erik, "A Comparison of Measures to Determine Severity of Disease in Adults With Psoriasis: A Systematic Review" (2022). Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview. 414.
https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/etd/414