---
title: >-
  Real-world study of hidradenitis suppurativa: skin lesions and pain are
  associated with Hurley Stage in TARGET-DERM HS.
description: >-
  Explore this publication on real-world evidence: Real-world study of
  hidradenitis suppurativa: skin lesions and pain are associated with Hurley
  Stage in…
date: '2024-01-01'
category: Publications
tags:
  - Maui Derm Conference
  - Poster Presentation
  - Approval / Commercialization
  - Care
  - Dermatology
  - Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS)
  - Pharma Partner
  - Health System Partner
canonical_url: >-
  https://www.pedestalhealth.com/resources/publications/maui-derm-conference/real-world-study-of-hidradenitis-suppurativa-skin-lesions/
source: Pedestal Health
license: © 2026 Pedestal Health. All rights reserved.
slug: real-world-study-of-hidradenitis-suppurativa-skin-lesions
id: 7ITT1Vc7t68v8dfgqbvssp
contentType: article
---

## Challenge

HS disease burden is widely recognized but the specific associations between objective lesion counts—nodules, abscesses, fistulas—and patient-reported pain, odor, and drainage across Hurley stages had not been established in a large real-world North American registry, limiting the use of clinician-assessed endpoints as surrogates for patient experience.

## Solution

The TARGET-DERM HS registry was analyzed to characterize HS-PGA severity, lesion counts, and patient-reported symptom assessments (pain, drainage, odor) stratified by Hurley stage, providing the first large real-world characterization of disease burden across the HS severity spectrum.

## Impact

Establishing that objective lesion counts and patient-reported symptoms both scale significantly with Hurley staging validates Hurley stage as a meaningful disease severity stratification tool for HS clinical trials and supports the use of lesion-count endpoints as surrogates for patient-experienced burden in drug development.

### [Feng Yu](/people/feng-yu/)

### [Keith D. Knapp](/people/keith-knapp/)

### [Julie M. Crawford](/people/julie-crawford/)