About
About How to Treat HS
How to Treat HS is a project of the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation. It exists to put the joint AAD and HS Foundation clinical guidelines in front of the clinicians who see HS, in a form they can use during a visit. Most people with HS are first seen outside dermatology, and this site is built for them as much as for specialists.
The guidelines
The joint guidelines were developed by a 15-member workgroup convened by the American Academy of Dermatology and the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation, and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Twelve members are board-certified dermatologists. The workgroup also included methodological and pharmacy expertise.
Haley Naik, MD, MHSc
Co-chair
University of California, San Francisco
Craig Burkhart, MD, MSBS, MPH
Co-chair
Burkhart Pediatric & Adolescent Dermatology, Cary, NC
Howa Yeung, MD, MSc
Emory University School of Medicine
Lindsy Frazer-Green, PhD
American Academy of Dermatology
Steven Daveluy, MD
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Amit Garg, MD
Northwell Health
Amy McMichael, MD
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Christopher Sayed, MD
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
George Hightower, MD
UC San Diego School of Medicine; Rady Children’s Hospital
Ginette Okoye, MD
Howard University College of Medicine
Kelly Keeler, MS
American Academy of Dermatology
Lauren Orenstein, MD, MSc
Emory University School of Medicine
Melanie Plotke, PharmD
American Academy of Dermatology
Melissa Shive, MD, MPH
University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
Peggy Wu, MD, MPH
University of California, Davis
Method
The workgroup searched the literature for every available therapeutic intervention for HS, regardless of whether the evidence turned out to be high, low, or very low quality. Evidence was systematically retrieved and assessed, certainty was rated, and recommendations were formulated using GRADE. Searches also covered patient values and preferences, resource use, and feasibility, and patient partners contributed at key stages.
Thirty-seven recommendations were made. Forty further therapies were evaluated without reaching a recommendation, and those are listed rather than dropped, because an absence of evidence is not a recommendation against use.
How to cite
Copyable citation for the guidelines and for this site.
Naik HB, Yeung H, Frazer-Green L, Daveluy SD, Garg A, McMichael AJ, et al. Joint American Academy of Dermatology-Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation guidelines of care for the management of hidradenitis suppurativa. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2026. doi:[DOI]
Naik HB, Yeung H, Frazer-Green L, et al. Supplemental tables for joint AAD-HSF guidelines of care for the management of hidradenitis suppurativa. Mendeley Data. 2026. doi:10.17632/m3km5ksk6s.1
About the HS Foundation
Founded in 2005, the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by HS through research, education, and advocacy. The Foundation supports an interdisciplinary community of scientists and physicians working toward more effective treatment and prevention.