Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jun;14(2):45-55.
doi: 10.5415/apallergy.0000000000000141. Epub 2024 Apr 4.

Quantitative assessment and correlational analysis of subjective and objective indicators in patients with allergic rhinitis

Jia Gu  1 , Zhuo-Ping Liang  1 , Wei Xu  1 , Tian-Zhen Liu  1 , Zhen-Rong Li  1 , Gang Qin  1
Affiliations

Quantitative assessment and correlational analysis of subjective and objective indicators in patients with allergic rhinitis

Jia Gu et al. Asia Pac Allergy. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Background: The diagnosis of allergic rhinitis is mainly based on the typical medical history, clinical manifestations, and corresponding allergen test results of the patients. However, there are often clinical inconsistencies among the 3.

Objective: To study the clinical characteristics of patients with allergic rhinitis from both subjective and objective aspects to determine the correlations between the quantitative assessment outcomes of subjective and objective indicators.

Methods: A total of 111 patients with allergic rhinitis who visited our outpatient clinic from June 2022 to December 2022 were selected. The 22-item sino-nasal outcome test (SNOT-22) and the visual analog scale (VAS) for the severity of the disease were used to score the subjective indicators of allergic rhinitis. The objective indicators of allergic rhinitis were evaluated by serum inhalant allergens immunoglobulin E test, nasal endoscopy modified Lund-Kennedy (MLK) scoring method, and acoustic rhinometry.

Results: SNOT-22 score, total VAS score for symptoms, and the VAS score for nasal itching were positively correlated with the number of positive allergens (r = 0.266, P = 0.005, r = 0.576, P < 0.001, and r = 0.271, P = 0.004, respectively). No differences were found in all subjective indicators scores between the total immunoglobulin E positive and negative groups (P > 0.05). SNOT-22 score, total VAS score for symptoms, and the VAS score for nasal congestion were positively correlated with MLK total score of nasal endoscopy (r = 0.343, P < 0.001, r = 0.438, P < 0.001, and r = 0.225, P = 0.018, respectively). Parameters of acoustic rhinometry were not correlated with the subjective indicators scores of allergic rhinitis (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: A multifaceted quantitative assessment of allergic rhinitis using a combination of subjective and objective methods can help physicians make an accurate diagnosis and create reasonable treatment plans.

Keywords: Acoustic rhinometry; allergens; allergic rhinitis; endoscopy; symptom assessment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Results of inhalational allergen sIgE testing in 111 patients with allergic rhinitis. The positive rate of house dust mite/powder mite was the highest, while the positive rate of absinthe/wormwood/ragweed was the lowest. sIgE, specific immunoglobulin E.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Comparison of the SNOT-22 and VAS scores between patients in the positive and negative groups for inhaled allergens tIgE. No significant differences in the SNOT-22 score (A), in the total VAS score for symptoms (B), in the VAS score for nasal itching symptom (C), in the VAS score for sneezing symptom (D), in the VAS score for runny nose symptom (E), and in the VAS score for nasal congestion symptom (F) between the tIgE-positive and tIgE-negative groups. SNOT-22, 22-item sino-nasal outcome test; tIgE, total immunoglobulin E; VAS, visual analog scale.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Correlation analysis of SNOT-22 and VAS scores with the number of positively inhaled allergens. The number of positively inhaled allergens displayed a weak positive correlation with the SNOT-22 score (A), a moderate positive correlation with the total VAS score for symptoms (B), and a weak positive correlation with the VAS score for nasal itching symptom (C); the number of positively inhaled allergens displayed no significant correlations with the VAS score for the sneezing symptom (D), the VAS score for runny nose symptom (E), and the VAS score for nasal congestion symptom (F). SNOT-22, 22-item sino-nasal outcome test; VAS, visual analog scale.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Correlation analysis of SNOT-22 and VAS scores with the highest positive intensity of sIgE. SNOT-22 score (A), total VAS score for symptoms (B), VAS score for nasal itching symptom (C), VAS score for the sneezing symptom (D), VAS score for runny nose symptom (E), and VAS score for nasal congestion symptom (F) were not correlated with the highest positive intensity of sIgE, respectively. sIgE, specific immunoglobulin E; SNOT-22, 22-item sino-nasal outcome test; VAS, visual analog scale.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Correlation analysis of the SNOT-22 and VAS scores with MLK total score of nasal endoscopy. SNOT-22 score (A), total VAS score for symptoms (B), and VAS score for nasal congestion symptom (F) were positively correlated with MLK total score of nasal endoscopy, respectively, while VAS score for nasal itching symptom (C), VAS score for the sneezing symptom (D), and VAS score for runny nose symptom (E) were not correlated with MLK total score of nasal endoscopy, respectively. MLK, modified Lund-Kennedy; SNOT-22, 22-item sino-nasal outcome test; VAS, visual analog scale.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Analysis of the correlation of SNOT-22 and VAS scores with acoustic rhinometry parameters (NCV and NMCA). SNOT-22 score (A, D), total VAS score for symptoms (B, E), and VAS score for nasal congestion symptom (C, F) were not correlated with NCV and NMCA, respectively. NCV, nasal cavity volume; NMCA, nasal minimal cross-sectional area; SNOT-22, 22-item sino-nasal outcome test; VAS, visual analog scale.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Bousquet J, Anto JM, Bachert C, Baiardini I, Bosnic-Anticevich S, Walter Canonica G, Melén E, Palomares O, Scadding GK, Togias A, Toppila-Salmi S. Allergic rhinitis. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020;6:95. - PubMed
    1. Klimek L, Bergmann K, Biedermann T, Bousquet J, Hellings P, Jung K, Merk H, Olze H, Schlenter W, Stock P, Ring J, Wagenmann M, Wehrmann W, Mösges R, Pfaar O. Visual analogue scales (VAS): measuring instruments for the documentation of symptoms and therapy monitoring in cases of allergic rhinitis in everyday health care. Allergo J Int. 2017;26:16–24. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weinstein SF, Katial R, Jayawardena S, Pirozzi G, Staudinger H, Eckert L, Joish VN, Amin N, Maroni J, Rowe P, Graham NMH, Teper A. Efficacy and safety of dupilumab in perennial allergic rhinitis and comorbid asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2018;142:171–177.e1. - PubMed
    1. Lauriello M, Di Rubbo V, Sinatti G, Pasqua M, Tucci C, di Marco G-P, Necozione S, Eibenstein A. Correlation between SNOT-22, nasal cytology, and mood disorders in patients with allergic rhinitis treated with a liposomal nasal spray. Allergy Rhinol (Providence). 2019;10:2152656719866809. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Karli R, Balbaloglu E, Uzun L, Çinar F, Ugur MB. Correlation of symptoms with total IgE and specific IgE levels in patients presenting with allergic rhinitis. Ther Adv Respir Dis. 2013;7:75–79. - PubMed