Rhinosinusitis Quality-of-Life Assessment: A Persian Adaptation and Validation

Abstract

Background: Rhinosinusitis involves inflammation within the paranasal sinuses and the nasal mucosa. It is a very common chronic health condition. This paper performs a validation process on the Persian translation of the rhinosinusitis quality-of-life questionnaire (RhinoQOL), for use in clinical assessment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients. The Lund-Mackay score is also used widely in assessing CRS, and this study aims to describe its relationship to RhinoQOL. Methods: The Persian RhinoQOL adaptation was carried out on 110 CRS patients. A follow-up questionnaire was completed two weeks later. Psychometric properties were determined by statistical analysis (reliability, reproducibility, validity, responsiveness). A total of 45 patients were included for radiologic score calculation. The Spearman’s test was used for assessing the correlation between the RhinoQOL scores and Lund-Mackay score. Results: Internal reliability was excellent for the impact scale (Cronbach’s alpha=0.92). Cronbach’s alpha was 0.63 and 0.55 for frequency and irritation scales, which reflects lower internal consistency values. Temporal stability or Test-retest reliability was excellent across all three scales. ICC was 0.96, 0.97, and 0.99 for RhinoQOL frequency, irritation, and impact scales. No significant correlation was observed between the Lund-Mackay score and RhinoQOL scores in terms of frequency, irritation and impact scales. Conclusion: The Persian version of RhinoQOL appears to be as reliable, valid, and sensitive to change as the English version.