Validation of the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale: a patient-reported outcome measure of Vitiligo treatment success
Background: Patient-reported outcome measures are rarely used in vitiligo trials. The Vitiligo Noticeability Scale (VNS) is a new patient-reported outcome measure assessing how ‘noticeable’ the vitiligo patches are after treatment. The noticeability of vitiligo after treatment is an important indi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Wiley
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46501/ |
| _version_ | 1848797341346168832 |
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| author | Batchelor, J.M. Tan, Wei Tour, S. Yong, A. Montgomery, Alan A. Thomas, K.S. |
| author_facet | Batchelor, J.M. Tan, Wei Tour, S. Yong, A. Montgomery, Alan A. Thomas, K.S. |
| author_sort | Batchelor, J.M. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background:
Patient-reported outcome measures are rarely used in vitiligo trials. The Vitiligo Noticeability Scale (VNS) is a new patient-reported outcome measure assessing how ‘noticeable’ the vitiligo patches are after treatment. The noticeability of vitiligo after treatment is an important indicator of treatment success from the patient’s perspective.
Objectives:
This study aimed to evaluate the construct validity, acceptability and interpretability of the VNS. Our main hypothesis was that the VNS would be a better and more consistent indicator of treatment success than percentage repigmentation.
Methods:
Clinicians (n=33) and patients with vitiligo (n=101) examined 39 image pairs, each depicting a vitiligo lesion pre- and post-treatment. Using an online questionnaire, respondents gave a global assessment of treatment success and a VNS score for treatment response. Clinicians also estimated percentage repigmentation of lesions (<25; 25-50; 51-75; >75). Treatment success was defined as ‘Yes’ on global assessment, a VNS score of 4 or 5, and more than 75% repigmentation. Agreement between respondents and the different scales was assessed using kappa statistics.
Results:
VNS scores were associated with both patient- and clinician-reported global treatment success (κ = 0.54 and κ = 0.47, respectively). Percentage repigmentation showed a weaker association with patient- and clinician-reported global treatment success (κ = 0.39 and κ = 0.29, respectively). VNS scores of 4 or 5 can be interpreted as representing treatment success. Images depicting post-treatment hyperpigmentation were less likely to be rated as successful.
Conclusions:
The VNS is a valid patient-reported measure of vitiligo treatment success. Further validation of the VNS is required, using larger sets of clinical pre- and post-treatment images, affecting a wider range of anatomical sites. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:02:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-46501 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:02:20Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-465012024-08-15T15:18:21Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46501/ Validation of the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale: a patient-reported outcome measure of Vitiligo treatment success Batchelor, J.M. Tan, Wei Tour, S. Yong, A. Montgomery, Alan A. Thomas, K.S. Background: Patient-reported outcome measures are rarely used in vitiligo trials. The Vitiligo Noticeability Scale (VNS) is a new patient-reported outcome measure assessing how ‘noticeable’ the vitiligo patches are after treatment. The noticeability of vitiligo after treatment is an important indicator of treatment success from the patient’s perspective. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the construct validity, acceptability and interpretability of the VNS. Our main hypothesis was that the VNS would be a better and more consistent indicator of treatment success than percentage repigmentation. Methods: Clinicians (n=33) and patients with vitiligo (n=101) examined 39 image pairs, each depicting a vitiligo lesion pre- and post-treatment. Using an online questionnaire, respondents gave a global assessment of treatment success and a VNS score for treatment response. Clinicians also estimated percentage repigmentation of lesions (<25; 25-50; 51-75; >75). Treatment success was defined as ‘Yes’ on global assessment, a VNS score of 4 or 5, and more than 75% repigmentation. Agreement between respondents and the different scales was assessed using kappa statistics. Results: VNS scores were associated with both patient- and clinician-reported global treatment success (κ = 0.54 and κ = 0.47, respectively). Percentage repigmentation showed a weaker association with patient- and clinician-reported global treatment success (κ = 0.39 and κ = 0.29, respectively). VNS scores of 4 or 5 can be interpreted as representing treatment success. Images depicting post-treatment hyperpigmentation were less likely to be rated as successful. Conclusions: The VNS is a valid patient-reported measure of vitiligo treatment success. Further validation of the VNS is required, using larger sets of clinical pre- and post-treatment images, affecting a wider range of anatomical sites. Wiley 2016-02-12 Article PeerReviewed Batchelor, J.M., Tan, Wei, Tour, S., Yong, A., Montgomery, Alan A. and Thomas, K.S. (2016) Validation of the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale: a patient-reported outcome measure of Vitiligo treatment success. British Journal of Dermatology, 174 (2). pp. 386-394. ISSN 1365-2133 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjd.14208/abstract doi:10.1111/bjd.14208 doi:10.1111/bjd.14208 |
| spellingShingle | Batchelor, J.M. Tan, Wei Tour, S. Yong, A. Montgomery, Alan A. Thomas, K.S. Validation of the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale: a patient-reported outcome measure of Vitiligo treatment success |
| title | Validation of the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale: a patient-reported outcome measure of Vitiligo treatment success |
| title_full | Validation of the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale: a patient-reported outcome measure of Vitiligo treatment success |
| title_fullStr | Validation of the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale: a patient-reported outcome measure of Vitiligo treatment success |
| title_full_unstemmed | Validation of the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale: a patient-reported outcome measure of Vitiligo treatment success |
| title_short | Validation of the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale: a patient-reported outcome measure of Vitiligo treatment success |
| title_sort | validation of the vitiligo noticeability scale: a patient-reported outcome measure of vitiligo treatment success |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46501/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46501/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46501/ |