The 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test accurately reflects patient-reported control of chronic rhinosinusitis symptomatology

Abstract

Background: Patient-reported control of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) symptoms is associated with the quality of life impact of CRS. We sought to determine if 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) score is predictive of patient-perceived CRS symptom control.

Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study of 202 patients with CRS. Participants were asked to rate their CRS symptom control as "not at all," "a little," "somewhat," "very," and "completely." The severity of patient CRS symptomatology was measured using the SNOT-22. The relationship between SNOT-22 score and patient-reported CRS symptom control was determined using regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

Results: SNOT-22 was negatively associated with patient-reported CRS symptom control (adjusted β = -0.03; 95% CI, -0.04 to -0.02; p < 0.001), after controlling for demographic and clinical characteristics. There was a significant difference in SNOT-22 scores of participants reporting each level of symptom control (p < 0.001) with the greatest differences between participants who rated their CRS symptom control as "not at all," "a little," and "somewhat," which we deem poor CRS symptom control, and the group who described their level of CRS symptom control described as "very" and "completely," which we deem well-controlled CRS symptoms. These results were true across all SNOT-22 subdomains scores as well. Using ROC analysis, a SNOT-22 score of 35 identified patients reporting poor vs well-controlled CRS symptom control with 71.4% sensitivity and 85.5% specificity.

Conclusion: SNOT-22 score is associated with how well patients feel their CRS symptomatology is controlled. Moreover, SNOT-22 score can be used to accurately distinguish patients with poor vs well-controlled CRS symptoms.

Keywords: SNOT-22; chronic rhinosinusitis; emotional symptoms; facial pain; nasal symptoms; otologic symptoms; sleep; symptom control.