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Are patients better than the laboratory in assessing sweating? Validation study.
Anne-Lene Krogstad1, Stefan Kazimierz Piechnik
1Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden. anne-leene.krogstad@neuro.gu.se
Summary
The Self-Evaluation Scale (SES) effectively assesses palmar sweating in hyperhidrosis patients, correlating well with objective measures and offering improved diagnostic accuracy for clinical use.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Primary focal hyperhidrosis is a hereditary condition causing excessive palmar sweating.
- Clinical diagnosis often relies solely on patient-reported symptoms due to a lack of established laboratory tests.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate a subjective self-assessment scale for sweating.
- To compare the scale against an objective method for quantifying skin surface evaporation.
Main Methods:
- Twenty patients with primary focal hyperhidrosis and 20 controls were studied.
- Palmar sweating was measured using evaporimetry and a Self-Evaluation Scale (SES) from 0 to 10.
- Measurements were taken four times per subject.
Main Results:
- A good correlation (R = .65) was observed between the SES scores and evaporimetry measurements.
- The SES demonstrated higher diagnostic sensitivity and specificity compared to evaporimetry.
- A threshold SES score of 3 yielded over 80% sensitivity and specificity.
Conclusions:
- The Self-Evaluation Scale (SES) is a useful tool for assessing palmar sweating in hyperhidrosis.
- The SES can be easily integrated into clinical and research protocols for broader validation.
- Current limitations in clinical diagnosis are acknowledged, with potential for wider application of the SES.