Radiation-induced skin reactions. 2: Development of a measurement tool.

Radiation-induced skin reactions occur commonly in clinical practice and cause various problems for the patient. Assessment and treatment of these reactions is an important part of the healthcare professional's role in the radiotherapy unit. To accomplish this effectively a specific, yet comprehensive, measuring tool is needed. The first article in this three-part series (Vol 8(17): 1134-40) examined the phenomenon of radiation-induced skin reactions, including descriptions of how radiotherapy affects the skin and the prevalence and significance of these skin reactions. Using the literature, the most common signs and symptoms were isolated. This provided the basis for the development of a specific yet holistic assessment tool. In this article, an explanation of the methods used to collect and analyse data for the development of an assessment tool to measure radiation-induced skin reactions is described. The tool is called the Radiation-Induced Skin Reaction Assessment Scale (RISRAS). In the third article in the series, the results of RISRAS's initial evaluation is reported along with its efficacy for clinical practice.