[Evaluation of a questionnaire for measuring nasal symptoms in subjects with allergic rhinitis].

BACKGROUND

For the assessment of nasal symptoms in allergic rhinitis patients, most of the questionnaires evaluate the impact of symptoms on patient's quality life.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the consistent and reliability of a nasal symptom questionnaire in patients with allergic rhinitis.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

224 patients (10 to 19 years old) accepted to participate in the study. All the patients completed a questionnaire, which evaluates the severity and frequency of four nasal symptoms using a maximum total score of 12 points. The consistent was studied after the questionnaire was administered to 62 patients with allergic rhinitis and 62 patients without it. The reliability after one to four weeks was studied on 100 healthy subjects with the Bland and Altman's method.

RESULTS

The total score of patients with allergic rhinitis was significantly different to the score of the patients without it (7.1 +/- 2 and 1.9 +/- 1, respectively). The alpha coefficient for the total score was 0.86. The repeated measures showed a repeatability of 96% with a repeatability coefficient of 2.

CONCLUSION

The nasal symptom questionnaire is a reliable tool for the follow up of allergic rhinitis during periods of one to four weeks.