ECCA grading scale:: An original validated acne scar grading scale for clinical practice in dermatology

Introduction: The ECCA grading scale (echelle d'evaluation clinique des cicatrices d'acne) is a tool designed to help dermatologists to assess the severity of acne scars and to standardize the discussions about the treatments of scars. Methods: We developed an acne scar clinical grading scale called ECCA, which consists of 6 items designed to assess easily and quickly the severity of acne scars by a global score. The interobserver reliability of the ECCA grading was statistically validated. Results: The statistical analysis showed the inter-investigator reliability of the ECCA grading scale among 7 dermatologists who used it on the same group of 10 acne patients. Conclusion: ECCA is a new tool which will now be available for dermatologists to use in their everyday practice and for clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of treatments on acne scars. Copyright (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.