Allergy and Asthma Medical Group and Research Center, San Diego, Calif, USA.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013 Feb;131(2):379-86. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.10.022. Epub 2012 Dec 6.
The Rhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT) is a brief, patient-completed tool to evaluate rhinitis symptom control.
We sought to test the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of RCAT and to estimate a cut-point score and minimal important difference (MID).
A total of 402 patients 12 years of age and older with allergic or nonallergic rhinitis were enrolled in a noninterventional study. Patients completed the RCAT (6 items; score range, 6-30) and had Total Nasal Symptom Scores (TNSSs) measured at baseline and 2 weeks later. Physicians completed a global assessment of rhinitis symptom control (Physician's Global Assessment) and disease severity. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, known-groups validity, and responsiveness were evaluated. The MID was determined by using distribution- and anchor-based methods. Content validity of the RCAT was assessed in individual interviews with a separate group of 58 adult patients.
Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of RCAT scores were 0.77 and 0.78, respectively. Convergent validity correlation between RCAT and TNSS scores was 0.57, and that between RCAT and Physician's Global Assessment scores was 0.34. Mean RCAT scores differed significantly (P < .001) across patient groups, differing in TNSS (F = 72.7), Physician's Global Assessment score (F = 28.6), and disease severity (F = 34.1) in the hypothesized direction. Results suggested a cut-point score of 21 or less can be used to identify patients who are experiencing rhinitis symptom control problems. The preliminary estimate of the MID was 3 points. Patients found RCAT items comprehensive, easy to understand, and relevant.
The RCAT demonstrated adequate reliability, validity, and responsiveness and was deemed acceptable and appropriate by patients. This tool can facilitate the detection of rhinitis symptom control problems, and its brevity supports its usefulness in clinical care.
鼻炎控制评估测试（RCAT）是一种简短的、患者自行完成的工具，用于评估鼻炎症状的控制情况。
我们旨在测试 RCAT 的可靠性、有效性和反应性，并估计切点分数和最小有意义差异（MID）。
共有 402 名 12 岁及以上的过敏性或非过敏性鼻炎患者参加了一项非干预性研究。患者在基线和 2 周后完成 RCAT（6 项；评分范围为 6-30）和总鼻症状评分（TNSS）。医生完成了鼻炎症状控制的整体评估（医生整体评估）和疾病严重程度。评估了内部一致性、测试-重测可靠性、收敛有效性、已知组有效性和反应性。使用分布和基于锚的方法确定 MID。通过对另一组 58 名成年患者进行单独访谈，评估了 RCAT 的内容有效性。
RCAT 评分的内部一致性和测试-重测可靠性分别为 0.77 和 0.78。RCAT 与 TNSS 评分之间的收敛有效性相关性为 0.57，与医生整体评估评分之间的相关性为 0.34。RCAT 评分在不同患者组之间存在显著差异（P<.001），在 TNSS（F=72.7）、医生整体评估评分（F=28.6）和疾病严重程度（F=34.1）方面呈现出预期的差异。结果表明，21 分或以下的切点分数可用于识别出现鼻炎症状控制问题的患者。MID 的初步估计为 3 分。患者认为 RCAT 项目全面、易于理解且相关。
RCAT 表现出足够的可靠性、有效性和反应性，并且得到了患者的认可和适用。该工具可以促进鼻炎症状控制问题的检测，其简洁性支持其在临床护理中的有用性。
