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Validation of the diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To validate the accuracy of newly proposed diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis (AD).

DESIGN: Double-blind, cross-sectional study comparing the achievement of new criteria with the diagnosis of a dermatologist.

SETTING: A private, general dermatology, outpatient clinic.

PATIENTS: A sample of 416 consecutive patients attending the clinic within 2 months (146 males and 270 females), consisting of 60 patients with AD and 356 control patients with other skin diseases.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of proposed criteria in the diagnosis of AD.

RESULTS: Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of proposed diagnostic criteria for AD were 10.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1%-21.2%), 98.3% (95% CI, 96.2%-99.3%), 50.0% (95% CI, 22.3%-77.7%), and 86.6% (95% CI, 82.8%-89.7%), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: These diagnostic criteria for AD are highly specific and are suitable for clinical trials. However, they may not achieve enough sensitivity to be useful for large, population-based epidemiological studies or for routine clinical practice, at least in Iran.

More information

Type
Journal Article
Author
Firooz A
Davoudi S M
Farahmand A N
Majdzadeh R
Kashani N
Dowlati Y

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