Use of the Vitiligo Extent Score: a protocol for a scoping review.

Abstract

Vitiligo is a chronic skin condition with no cure. Clinical assessment and treatment evaluation relies heavily on clinometry tools and expert knowledge. The Vitiligo Extent Score has been proposed as one of the most reliable and easy-to-use clinometry tools for vitiligo. We proposed a scoping review to identify all the available evidence on the clinical research availability around the Vitiligo Extent Score. The following databases will be searched: MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, Open Grey, Lens and Directory of Open Access Journals. In addition, the approach proposed in the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewer's Manual will be followed. Finally, this review will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Ethics approval for this review is not required. We intend to publish the results in a specialised peer-reviewed journal and local, national and international conference presentations. It will also be incorporated as educational material in our institution's postgraduate programme in dermatology.