The Physician Global Assessment (PGA) is a simple, "gestalt" assessment of clinical severity for a patient with psoriasis. Its main virtue is its simplicity. It can be used for monitoring the patient over time and for evaluating the response to therapy.
Alternative Name: Psoriasis Global Assessment
Parameters:
(1) plaque elevation
(2) scaling
(3) erythema
There are 7 levels for each parameter.
Level |
Clinical Appearance |
none |
completely clear |
minimal |
almost completely clear |
mild |
slight |
mild to moderate |
intermediate |
moderate |
moderate |
moderate to severe |
marked |
severe |
very marked |
where:
• Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation is not graded.
One variation is to replace each measure by a 10 cm visual analogue scale (VAS). Another would be to add an extreme level.
Limitations:
• The method is subjective and can have a high inter- and intra-observer variability.
Purpose: To evaluate a patient with psoriasis using the Physician Global Assessment (PGA).
Specialty: Dermatology, Immunology/Rheumatology
Objective: severity, prognosis, stage
ICD-10: L40,