Qualitative assessment of the content validity of pruritus patient-reported outcome measures in mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for worst itch in the past 24 hours provides the strongest content validity for assessing itch intensity in mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome, whereas the ItchyQoL captures specific impacts but fails to fully reflect the complexity of itch in this population. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Jenny Jung Sun Park; Krithika Nayudu; Caroline Raymundo; Eric Olsen; Ellen Kim; Neha Mehta-Shah; Rosanne Ottevanger; Susan Thornton; Julia Scarisbrick; Lourdes Perez-Chada; Cecilia Larocca; Michi M. Shinohara

doi:10.1093/bjd/ljag379

September 7, 2026British Journal of Dermatology

Qualitative assessment of the content validity of pruritus patient-reported outcome measures in mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome

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Key Points

To evaluate the content validity of the Numeric Rating Scale, Visual Analogue Scale, and ItchyQoL for assessing pruritus in patients with mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome.
Conducted a qualitative assessment following established COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) methodology.
Evaluated patient-reported outcome measures including the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and ItchyQoL questionnaire in the target disease population.
Assessing worst itch severity over the past 24 hours using the NRS demonstrated the strongest evidence of content validity for itch intensity.
The ItchyQoL effectively measured key burdens including sleep disturbance, scratch behavior, and anger or irritability, but did not fully reflect the clinical complexity of itch in this population.

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Implication

Qualitative assessment reveals differing accuracy of pruritus scales in mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome, highlighting numeric rating for itch intensity.

Abstract

Using established COSMIN standards, we evaluated the content validity of the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and ItchyQoL in mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome. Rating the worst itch in the past 24 hours by the NRS had the strongest support for assessing itch intensity, whereas the ItchyQoL captured important impacts on sleep, scratching, and anger/irritability but did not fully reflect the complexity of itch in this population.

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Park et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa27ad858559d80afc73a26 https://doi.org/10.1093/bjd/ljag379

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Qualitative assessment of the content validity of pruritus patient-reported outcome measures in mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome

Key Points

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Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

Qualitative assessment of the content validity of pruritus patient-reported outcome measures in mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome

Key Points

Ask about this paper

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

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