Adaptation to Spanish and validation of the Rhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT) questionnaire

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The Rhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT) is a widely used patient-based questionnaire developed to evaluate control of rhinitis. Objective: To develop and validate a Spanish version of the RCAT (RCATe). METHODS: After translation and cultural adaptation of the original RCAT, this multicentric observational, prospective study evaluated the properties/attributes of the RCATe assessing its validity, reliability, responsiveness, size effect, minimal important difference and cut point score. RESULTS: A total of 252 allergic rhinitis (AR) patients from 27 allergy and otolaryngology departments from hospitals throughout Spain were included. Significant and strong correlations were found between the RCATe and the total nasal symptom score and the visual analogue scale (-0.79 and -0.77, respectively; p 20 (ROC curve area= 0.746; sensitivity= 58.3%; specificity= 90.9%). CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric evaluation and validation of RCATe indicated good reliability, validity, and responsiveness suggesting it can be effectively used to measure control of AR symptoms by Spanish-speaking patients.