Stages
In most cases, doctors use the Hurley clinical staging system to confirm the severity of HS and organize a treatment plan. There are three Hurley stages:
- Stage 1: Single or multiple lesions (abscesses and nodules) with little scarring
- Stage 2: Single or multiple lesions with limited scarring and tunnels
- Stage 3: multiple lesions across a whole area of the body, with networking scarring and tunnels
Your doctor may recommend the following methods to learn the severity of your HS:
- Sartorius Hidradenitis Suppurativa Score, a tool that measures and gives scores to lesions based on scarring, tunnels, and their distance from each other.
- Visual Analog Scale (VAS), a tool that evaluates pain.
- Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), a 10-question questionnaire
- Hidradenitis Suppurativa Impact Assessment, a questionnaire that observed and evaluates the effect of HS
- Hidradenitis Suppurativa Symptom Assessment, a questionnaire that detects HS symptoms
- Acne Inversa Severity Index (AISI), a measurement tool that evaluates the severity of HS symptoms