An assessment of interobserver agreement on lesion size, morphology and clinical phenotype in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania aethiopica in Ethiopia [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
Introduction Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) remains a major public health challenge, especially in endemic regions like Ethiopia, where an estimated 40,000 new cases occur annually. Effective treatment evaluation for CL relies on consistent clinical assessments, yet variability in lesion descriptions...
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F1000 Research Ltd
2025-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/5-12/v2 |
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| author | Stephen L. Walker Saba Lambert Endalamaw Gadisa Fewzia Shikur Mohammed Amel Beshir Mohammed Shimelis Doni Nigusse Feleke Tilahun Zewdu Michael Marks |
| author_facet | Stephen L. Walker Saba Lambert Endalamaw Gadisa Fewzia Shikur Mohammed Amel Beshir Mohammed Shimelis Doni Nigusse Feleke Tilahun Zewdu Michael Marks |
| author_sort | Stephen L. Walker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) remains a major public health challenge, especially in endemic regions like Ethiopia, where an estimated 40,000 new cases occur annually. Effective treatment evaluation for CL relies on consistent clinical assessments, yet variability in lesion descriptions can complicate reliable outcome measures. Methods We conducted an inter-reliability study of clinicians’ evaluations of CL lesion morphology and size at ALERT Hospital, Addis Ababa. Twelve clinicians independently examined 12 patients with parasitologically confirmed CL, each clinician assessing lesion morphology, size, and severity. Results We found high consistency in reporting major morphological categories (e.g., plaques) but significant variability in secondary features like dyspigmentation and scale, as well as mucosal involvement. Lesion size measurements showed limited variability, suggesting its reliability as a potential measure for future clinical trials. Disparities in severity assessments highlight the need for a standardized scoring system in CL. Discussion Our findings underscore the importance of training for consistent, high-quality clinical evaluations of CL and suggests that lesion size could be a reproducible outcome measure in treatment efficacy trials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9087c3666b364b5f8a97a062de5a0e12 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2633-4402 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | F1000 Research Ltd |
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| series | NIHR Open Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-9087c3666b364b5f8a97a062de5a0e122025-08-20T02:32:22ZengF1000 Research LtdNIHR Open Research2633-44022025-05-01510.3310/nihropenres.13869.215196An assessment of interobserver agreement on lesion size, morphology and clinical phenotype in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania aethiopica in Ethiopia [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]Stephen L. Walker0Saba Lambert1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4376-5495Endalamaw Gadisa2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5179-6278Fewzia Shikur Mohammed3Amel Beshir Mohammed4Shimelis Doni Nigusse5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0455-2518Feleke Tilahun Zewdu6Michael Marks7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7585-4743Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UKALERT Hospital, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDepartment of Malaria and Neglected Tropical Disease Research, Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaALERT Hospital, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaALERT Hospital, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaALERT Hospital, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaBoru Meda Hospital, Boru Meda, EthiopiaDepartment of Clinical Research, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UKIntroduction Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) remains a major public health challenge, especially in endemic regions like Ethiopia, where an estimated 40,000 new cases occur annually. Effective treatment evaluation for CL relies on consistent clinical assessments, yet variability in lesion descriptions can complicate reliable outcome measures. Methods We conducted an inter-reliability study of clinicians’ evaluations of CL lesion morphology and size at ALERT Hospital, Addis Ababa. Twelve clinicians independently examined 12 patients with parasitologically confirmed CL, each clinician assessing lesion morphology, size, and severity. Results We found high consistency in reporting major morphological categories (e.g., plaques) but significant variability in secondary features like dyspigmentation and scale, as well as mucosal involvement. Lesion size measurements showed limited variability, suggesting its reliability as a potential measure for future clinical trials. Disparities in severity assessments highlight the need for a standardized scoring system in CL. Discussion Our findings underscore the importance of training for consistent, high-quality clinical evaluations of CL and suggests that lesion size could be a reproducible outcome measure in treatment efficacy trials.https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/5-12/v2cutaneous leishmaniasiseng |
| spellingShingle | Stephen L. Walker Saba Lambert Endalamaw Gadisa Fewzia Shikur Mohammed Amel Beshir Mohammed Shimelis Doni Nigusse Feleke Tilahun Zewdu Michael Marks An assessment of interobserver agreement on lesion size, morphology and clinical phenotype in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania aethiopica in Ethiopia [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] NIHR Open Research cutaneous leishmaniasis eng |
| title | An assessment of interobserver agreement on lesion size, morphology and clinical phenotype in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania aethiopica in Ethiopia [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full | An assessment of interobserver agreement on lesion size, morphology and clinical phenotype in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania aethiopica in Ethiopia [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_fullStr | An assessment of interobserver agreement on lesion size, morphology and clinical phenotype in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania aethiopica in Ethiopia [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full_unstemmed | An assessment of interobserver agreement on lesion size, morphology and clinical phenotype in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania aethiopica in Ethiopia [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_short | An assessment of interobserver agreement on lesion size, morphology and clinical phenotype in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania aethiopica in Ethiopia [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_sort | assessment of interobserver agreement on lesion size morphology and clinical phenotype in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania aethiopica in ethiopia version 2 peer review 2 approved |
| topic | cutaneous leishmaniasis eng |
| url | https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/5-12/v2 |
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