Measuring the Severity of Topical 5-Fluorouracil Toxicity. Issue 4 (July 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Korgavkar, Kaveri; Firoz, Elnaz F.; Xiong, Michael; Lew, Robert; Marcolivio, Kimberly; Burnside, Nancy; Dyer, Robert; Weinstock, Martin A.
• Is Part Of: Journal of cutaneous medicine and surgery. Volume 18:Issue 4(2014)
• Page Start: 229
• Page End: 235
• Publication Date: 2014-07
• Subjects: Dermatology -- Periodicals; Skin -- Diseases -- Treatment -- Periodicals; Skin -- Surgery -- Periodicals; Dermatology -- Canada -- Periodicals; Skin -- Diseases -- Treatment -- Canada -- Periodicals; Skin -- Surgery -- Canada -- Periodicals; 616.5005
• DOI: 10.2310/7750.2013.13143
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1203-4754

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.