Patient-Reported Outcome Assessment and Objective Evaluation of Chemotherapy-Induced Alopecia
February 2018
in “
European journal of oncology nursing
”
TLDR The Hair Check tool can measure hair loss, but patients' own reports are more reliable for assessing hair loss during chemotherapy.
The study evaluated the efficacy of scalp cooling in preventing chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) by comparing patient-reported outcomes with quantitative measurements using the Hair Mass Index (HMI). Results showed that baseline HMI did not predict hair loss, and HMI declined throughout chemotherapy cycles, which was not reflected in patient-reported measures. Patient opinions correlated moderately with doctors and nurses but strongly with hairdressers. The study concluded that while the Hair Check is useful for quantifying hair loss, patient opinions should be considered the best method for assessing hair loss in clinical practice.
