Background: Disease control is an important treatment goal for chronic uncurable conditions such as chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The objective of this study was to determine whether patient-reported CRS disease control is a valid reflection of disease burden.
Methods: Prospective longitudinal study of 300 CRS patients (35% CRS with nasal polyps, 65% CRS without nasal polyps). At enrollment and at a subsequent follow-up timepoint, all participants were asked to rate their CRS disease control as 'not at all', 'a little', 'somewhat', 'very', 'completely' as well as to complete a 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) and the 5-dimension EuroQol general health questionnaire from which the visual analogue scale (EQ-5D VAS) was used.
Results: At enrollment and follow-up timepoints, patient-reported CRS disease control was significantly correlated with SNOT-22 and EQ-5D VAS scores. The change in patient-reported CRS disease control was significantly correlated with change in SNOT-22 and change in EQ-5D VAS scores. There was significant cross-sectional and longitudinal correlation between patient-reported control and all SNOT-22 subdomain scores. A SNOT-22 score of ≤25 points or lower, or an EQ-5D VAS score of ≥77 was predictive of having well - (i.e. 'very' or 'completely') controlled CRS.
Conclusions: Patient-reported CRS disease control is a valid measure of CRS disease burden and general QOL. A patient-reported assessment of CRS disease control could be considered as a component of a more comprehensive measure of CRS disease control.