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Few studies have validated standard measurement instruments for evaluation of chronic pruritus. The Chronic Pruritus Tools Questionnaire PRURITOOLS assembles a set of instruments for the assessment of pruritus, such as the visual analogue scale (horizontal 100-mm line), numerical rating scale (0-10), verbal rating scale, and information on pruritus quality and improvement during therapy. This study, with 40 subjects, analysed PRURITOOLS regarding convergent validity and test-retest reliability (60 min), followed by a feasibility questionnaire. Test-retest reliability for PRURITOOLS items was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.84-1). Strong to very strong correlations between the pruritus intensity scales indicated convergent validity. The feasibility questionnaire showed an overall acceptance of PRURITOOLS, and the majority of subjects (82.5%) considered it an appropriate questionnaire to measure pruritus. In conclusion, PRURITOOLS offers validated tools for rapid pruritus assessment in routine care or endpoints of clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performing a reliable assessment of chronic pruritus remains a challenge. Electronic diaries are often used, but many of the scales have not been validated. ItchApp© was developed for Android smartphones in order to address this lack. A total of 40 subjects with chronic pruritus completed questionnaires both on paper and with ItchApp© (verbal rating scale, numerical rating scale, dynamic pruritus score) in order to validate the software application. Strong correlations were found for test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.865-0.977) and convergent validity (Spearman's r: 0.442-0.924). A feasibility questionnaire for ItchApp© revealed a high level of user friendliness and compliance. This was confirmed in a randomized controlled trial with 68 subjects, for which the clinically important difference in the numerical rating scale values for ItchApp© was calculated (2.61 points). In summary, ItchApp© is a recently developed eDiary that can provide experts with a reliable evaluation of patients with chronic pruritus. It will be made available for future clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]