Scoring systems in acne vulgaris.

Acne vulgaris remains one of the most common diseases afflicting humanity and it is the skin disease most commonly treated by physicians.[1] It is a disease of the pilosebaceous units, clinically characterized by seborrhea, comedones, papules, pustules, nodules and, in some cases, scarring.[2] Although easy to diagnose, the polymorphic nature of acne vulgaris and its varied extent of involvement do not permit simple evaluation of its severity. Because the acne lesions may vary in number during the natural course of the disease, various measurements have been developed, based on clinical examination and photographic documentation, to assess the clinical severity of acne vulgaris.[3] Moreover, if the acne treatment regimens produced an all-or-none response, then acne measurements would be unnecessary.[3]