The psychosocial impact of hidradenitis suppurativa

Increasingly, quality of life data are being captured along with other measures to evaluate success in the treatment of numerous disease states. This is no less true in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), an inflammatory condition that features multiple symptoms, including abscesses that can develop in multiple sites on the body, often in sensitive areas, that can be painful, can rupture, and can produce malodorous pus. The collection of baseline data with respect to the personal impact of HS is a necessary first step to determine if various interventions enhance the quality of life for patients with HS. While no particular tool provides sufficient insight about the psychosocial impairment that HS promotes, myriad instruments that have been used to measure the quality of life of HS patients have consistently shown that the disease has a substantial adverse impact on the physical, social, and emotional well-being of patients.