Experts, Patients Say Successful Alopecia Areata Treatment Yields 80% of Scalp Hair

Achieving 80% or more of scalp hair signals clinically meaningful treatment success to both patients with alopecia areata (AA) and clinician experts, according to study results published in Quality of Life Research.

The findings are based on semi-structured interviews with 10 dermatologist experts in AA and 30 adults and adolescents with AA as well as a history of 50% or greater scalp hair loss. Researchers used thematic methods to identify thresholds of treatment success.

The most important treatment outcome for both dermatologists and patients was the amount of scalp hair, the study showed.

Among dermatologists, most considered a static threshold of 75% or 80% of scalp hair a treatment success. Meanwhile, most patients considered 70% to 90% of scalp hair a success.

When asked, patients confirmed they would consider a Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score of 20 or less a treatment success.

“This qualitative investigation of expert clinicians-then-patients with AA confirmed that achieving an amount of 80% or more scalp hair (SALT score ≤ 20) was an appropriate individual treatment success threshold,” concluded researchers, “indicating clinically meaningful improvement for patients with ≥ 50% scalp hair loss.”

Reference:
Wyrwich KW, Kitchen H, Knight S, et al. Using qualitative methods to establish the clinically meaningful threshold for treatment success in alopecia areata. Qual Life Res. Published online July 12, 2022. doi: 10.1007/s11136-022-03170-7