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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014 Jul-Aug;18(4):229-35.
doi: 10.2310/7750.2013.13143.

Measuring the severity of topical 5-fluorouracil toxicity

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Randomized Controlled Trial

Measuring the severity of topical 5-fluorouracil toxicity

Kaveri Korgavkar et al. J Cutan Med Surg. 2014 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Background: Topical 5% 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is known to cause toxicity, such as erythema, pain, and crusting/erosions.

Objectives: We sought to develop a scale to measure this toxicity and test the scale for reliability.

Methods: A scale was developed involving four parameters: erythema severity, percentage of face involved in erythema, crusting/erosions severity, and percentage of face involved in crusting/erosions. Thirteen raters graded 99 sets of photographs from the Veterans Affairs Keratinocyte Carcinoma Chemoprevention (VAKCC) Trial using these parameters.

Results: Intraclass correlation overall for 13 raters was 0.82 (95% CI 0.77-0.86). There was no statistically significant trend in reliability by level of training in dermatology.

Conclusions: This scale is a reliable method of evaluating the severity of toxicity from topical 5-fluorouracil and can be used by dermatologists and nondermatologists alike.

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