Hamzavi et al reported the Vitiligo Area Scoring Index (VASI) for evaluating patients with vitiligo. This can aid the initial assessment and monitor disease activity over time. The authors are from the University of British Columbia.
Patient selection: vitiligo
Regions of the body assessed:
(1) hands
(2) upper extremities excluding feet
(3) trunk
(4) lower extremities excluding feet
(5) feet
Standardized assessments of depigmentation:
(1) 100%
(2) 90%
(3) 75%
(4) 50%
(5) 25%
(6) 10%
The measure of area was "the hand" (palm and volar surface of fingers) which equals about 1% of body surface area.
There are 2 ways to implement:
(1) measure areas in each region
(2) measure areas over the whole body
subscore for VASI
= (number of hands showing a level of depigmentation) * (percent depigmentation)
total score for VASI =
= SUM(subscore for all 6 depigmentation levels)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0 percent
• maximum score: 100 percent
• The higher the VASI score the worse the degree of depigmentation.
Performance:
• There could be significant interobserver variation.
