The Infant's Dermatitis Quality of Life Index questionnaire is designed for use in infants with atopic dermatitis below the age of 4 years. It is self-explanatory and should be completed by the child's parent (s) or regular carer. It can usually be completed within 2 or 3 minutes.
Key References
Lewis-Jones M S, Finlay A Y, Dykes P J. The Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index. Br J Dermatol 2001; 144: 104-10.
Basra MK, Gada V, Ungaro S, Finlay AY, Salek SM. Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index (IDQoL): a decade of experience of validation and clinical application. Br J Dermatol. 2013 Aug 2. doi: 10.1111/bjd.12563. [Epub ahead of print]
Scoring
The scoring of each question is as follows:
Dermatitis Severity (this is scored separately from the Life Quality Index)
| Extremely severe | scored 4 |
| Severe | scored 3 |
| Average | scored 2 |
| Fairly good | scored 1 |
| None | scored 0 |
| Maximum score is 4 |
Life Quality Index
Questions 1 and 5-10
| All the time | scored 3 |
| A lot | scored 2 |
| A little | scored 1 |
| None | scored 0 |
Question 2
| Always crying etc. | scored 3 |
| Very fretful | scored 2 |
| Slightly fretful | scored 1 |
| Happy | scored 0 |
Question 3
| More than 2 hrs | scored 3 |
| 1-2 hrs | scored 2 |
| 15 mins-1hr | scored 1 |
| 0-15 mins | scored 0 |
Question 4
| 5hrs or more | scored 3 |
| 3-4 hours | scored 2 |
| 1-2 hours | scored 1 |
| Less than 1 hour | scored 0 |
Question 5-10
| Very much | scored 3 |
| A lot | scored 2 |
| A little | scored 1 |
| Not at all / none | scored 0 |
The IDQOL is calculated by summing the score of each question resulting in a maximum of 30 and a minimum of 0. The higher the score the more quality of life is impaired. The severity of eczema is scored separately and can be correlated with the IDQOL.
There is a small charge for the use of the IDQOL (Except where the IDQOL is used for routine clinical purposes). This charge is based upon the total number of subjects to whom the Index is administered. It is not based upon the frequency with which the questionnaires are administered to each individual.
These charges are always waived by the copyright holders for non-funded 'academic' studies and they are mainly applied to pharmaceutical companies using these Indexes in Phase II and Phase III studies. Please contact the authors concerning this. The charge per subject is as follows:
UK: £5
USA and rest of world: $9.50 (Plus exchange rate at the time of invoicing)
Payment should be made after receipt of an invoice from the Cardiff University School of Medicine.
The copyright statement for the IDQoL is " © M.S. Lewis-Jones, A.Y.Finlay, Jan 2000". This must always be reproduced at the end of every copy of the IDQoL.
Please note that the Infants Dermatitis Quality of Life Index (IDQOL) is protected under copyright. However, the authors will usually give permission for the IDQOL to be used for academic purposes. Please contact either:
Dr M S Lewis-Jones FRCP
Consultant Dermatologist & Hon Senior Lecturer
Ward 33, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School
Dundee DD1 9SY, UK
Tel: +44 138 249 6244
e-mail: suelj@tuht.scot.nhs.uk
Professor Andrew Y Finlay, FRCP.
Department of Dermatology
Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff University
Heath Park, CARDIFF CF14 4XN
Wales, United Kingdom
Telephone: + 44 (0)29 20742884
Fax: + 44 (0)29 20744312
e-mail: finlayay@cf.ac.uk