Principal Investigator:
Kalyani Marathe, MD, MPH – Children’s National Health System
Overview:
Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the anogenital region. It usually presents with pruritus, pain, atrophy, sclerosis, depigmentation, hyperkeratosis, fissures, telangiectasia and ecchymoses. Treatment options are limited and one barrier to further research on LS treatments is the lack of a scoring system to grade LS severity and to monitor response to treatment.
The aim of this study is to develop and validate subjective and objective scores for the diagnosis and evaluation of pediatric vulvar lichen sclerosus.
The study will require collaboration between experts in pediatric dermatology, vulvar disease and gynecology initially in the form of focus groups and literature review to create the scales. After this, a pre-defined number of female pediatric patients with lichen sclerosus will be recruited, objective scores will be determined, subjective questionnaires will be administered and standardized photos will be taken. These photos will then be shared with and scored by the initial expert panel.
Status:
Active design.