Psoriasis: an audit of patients' views on the disease and its treatment

This audit aimed to establish the effect of out-patient clinic attendance on patients' attitudes to their psoriasis, its severity and its treatment. A secondary aim was to determine if there was any correlation between the patients subjective concept of disease severity and objective medical assessment. The audit was carried out by means of paired questionnaires completed by patients at their first visit to the out-patient clinic and at a review visit 3 months later. On each of these occasions an objective assessment of psoriasis severity score was made by the dermatologist. We were able to confirm previous reports of major psychosocial effects of psoriasis on the life-style of many patients. At their first visit 67% (30/45) of patients stated that their life-style was affected by psoriasis, while at review 3 months later this figure was 40% (18/45). Overall 76% (34/45) of patients felt their psoriasis had improved following attendance at the clinic, while 11% (5/45) of patients felt it had deteriorated over the 3-month period. However, all patients stated they found attendance at the out-patient clinic to be of benefit. There was a significant correlation between the psoriasis severity score by the patient and by the dermatologist (P less than 0.001).