Diagnostic criteria for erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva: an international electronic-Delphi consensus exercise

Background: There is no defined set of criteria for diagnosing erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva (ELPV) and there is geographical variation in management. Objectives: To reach consensus on clinicopathological diagnostic criteria for ELPV. Methods: This was a three-stage international e...

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Main Authors: Simpson, R. C., Thomas, K.S., Leighton, Paul, Murphy, R.
Format: Article
Published: Wiley 2013
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2473/
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author Simpson, R. C.
Thomas, K.S.
Leighton, Paul
Murphy, R.
author_facet Simpson, R. C.
Thomas, K.S.
Leighton, Paul
Murphy, R.
author_sort Simpson, R. C.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: There is no defined set of criteria for diagnosing erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva (ELPV) and there is geographical variation in management. Objectives: To reach consensus on clinicopathological diagnostic criteria for ELPV. Methods: This was a three-stage international electronic-Delphi exercise with a subsequent formal feedback process. In the first two rounds participants were asked to rate the importance of a list of clinicopathological criteria. Responses from round 1 were summarized and presented in round 2, along with additional criteria suggested by participants. In round 3, participants were asked to rate the items that had reached consensus as ‘essential’ or ‘supportive’ features in diagnosing ELPV. Consensus was defined as being reached if 75% of participants agreed on the importance of an item. Results: A total of 73 experts representing dermatology, gynaecology, histopathology and genitourinary medicine participated; 69 (95%) completed all three rounds. Consensus was achieved for the following ‘supportive’ diagnostic criteria: (i) well-demarcated erosions/erythematous areas at the vaginal introitus; (ii) presence of a hyperkeratotic border to lesions and/or Wickham striae in surrounding skin; (iii) symptoms of pain/burning; (iv) scarring/loss of normal architecture; (v) presence of vaginal inflammation; (vi) involvement of other mucosal surfaces; (vii) presence of a well-defined inflammatory band involving the dermoepidermo junction; (viii) presence of an inflammatory band consisting predominantly of lymphocytes; and (ix) signs of basal layer degeneration. It was suggested that at least three supportive features should be present to make a diagnosis of ELPV, although this number is subject to further discussion. Conclusions: This study has identified a diagnostic dataset for ELPV that can be adopted into clinical practice and clinical trials.
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spelling nottingham-24732020-05-04T16:35:57Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2473/ Diagnostic criteria for erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva: an international electronic-Delphi consensus exercise Simpson, R. C. Thomas, K.S. Leighton, Paul Murphy, R. Background: There is no defined set of criteria for diagnosing erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva (ELPV) and there is geographical variation in management. Objectives: To reach consensus on clinicopathological diagnostic criteria for ELPV. Methods: This was a three-stage international electronic-Delphi exercise with a subsequent formal feedback process. In the first two rounds participants were asked to rate the importance of a list of clinicopathological criteria. Responses from round 1 were summarized and presented in round 2, along with additional criteria suggested by participants. In round 3, participants were asked to rate the items that had reached consensus as ‘essential’ or ‘supportive’ features in diagnosing ELPV. Consensus was defined as being reached if 75% of participants agreed on the importance of an item. Results: A total of 73 experts representing dermatology, gynaecology, histopathology and genitourinary medicine participated; 69 (95%) completed all three rounds. Consensus was achieved for the following ‘supportive’ diagnostic criteria: (i) well-demarcated erosions/erythematous areas at the vaginal introitus; (ii) presence of a hyperkeratotic border to lesions and/or Wickham striae in surrounding skin; (iii) symptoms of pain/burning; (iv) scarring/loss of normal architecture; (v) presence of vaginal inflammation; (vi) involvement of other mucosal surfaces; (vii) presence of a well-defined inflammatory band involving the dermoepidermo junction; (viii) presence of an inflammatory band consisting predominantly of lymphocytes; and (ix) signs of basal layer degeneration. It was suggested that at least three supportive features should be present to make a diagnosis of ELPV, although this number is subject to further discussion. Conclusions: This study has identified a diagnostic dataset for ELPV that can be adopted into clinical practice and clinical trials. Wiley 2013-03-23 Article PeerReviewed Simpson, R. C., Thomas, K.S., Leighton, Paul and Murphy, R. (2013) Diagnostic criteria for erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva: an international electronic-Delphi consensus exercise. British Journal of Dermatology, 169 (2). pp. 337-343. ISSN 1365-2133 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjd.12334/abstract doi:10.1111/bjd.12334 doi:10.1111/bjd.12334
spellingShingle Simpson, R. C.
Thomas, K.S.
Leighton, Paul
Murphy, R.
Diagnostic criteria for erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva: an international electronic-Delphi consensus exercise
title Diagnostic criteria for erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva: an international electronic-Delphi consensus exercise
title_full Diagnostic criteria for erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva: an international electronic-Delphi consensus exercise
title_fullStr Diagnostic criteria for erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva: an international electronic-Delphi consensus exercise
title_full_unstemmed Diagnostic criteria for erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva: an international electronic-Delphi consensus exercise
title_short Diagnostic criteria for erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva: an international electronic-Delphi consensus exercise
title_sort diagnostic criteria for erosive lichen planus affecting the vulva: an international electronic-delphi consensus exercise
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2473/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2473/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2473/