PEST & POEM: the eczema patients' point of view
with permission
Atopic eczema in children can have a profound impact on quality of life of both the patient and the family.
Under-treatment of atopic eczema with standard topical treatment - moisturisers and topical anti-inflammatory creams - is an important cause for concern.
A recent Sheffield (UK) Dermatology Research study, demonstrating how a community-based nurse-administered educational programme to improve emollient use was not only effective but also cost-neutral, used a new simple measure, PEST [see graphics above: the Patient Eczema Severity Time score] when measuring overall unhappiness associated with eczema, together with POEM, the Patient Orientated Eczema Measure.
To find out more about these important patient-orientated measures ...
PEST: See Mason et al. BMC Dermatology 2013, 13:7
POEM: See Charman et al. JAMA Dermatology 2004, 140(12)