Severity Assessments In Psoriasis: Review of Applicability and Possible Challenges That May Arise In West African Population

Abstract

Severity assessment form vital part in management of chronic disorder in the aspect of monitoring and
research. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the skin that presents with well demarcated scaly
plaques. Its diagnosis has increased in dermatologic clinics of our region in recent times compared to
previous documentation of its rarity. With this recent experience of increase in diagnosis, severity
assessments become necessary. However, the are many severity assessment tools developed for this
disorder many of which were developed using fair-skinned individuals in which the disease is more prevalent
and there is a challenge of which one is most adaptable and applicable for use in our skin type. Unfortunately,
there have been very few studies on psoriasis and severity assessment in view of previous experience of its
rarity. We therefore decided to introduce the available severity tools for psoriasis, document the possible
challenges that may arise in their use as well as encourage the need for a research in determining the most
applicable method in estimating psoriasis severity in our skin type.