The aim of this study was to measure quality of life outcomes following immunotherapeutic treatment of allergic rthinitis. A cross-sectional study design with three groups was conducted. Twenty nine patients with allergic rhinitis (group AR) and twenty six patients with allergic rhinitis who had undergone immunotherapy (group ARIT) were evaluated with the generic outcome measure (validated Chinese version of the Medical Outcome Study Short-form 36 item Health Survey, SF-36) and disease-specific outcome measure (Allergic Rhinitis Quality of Life Instrument, ARQOL). Thirty people without allergic rhinitis (group Normal) also completed the ARQOL. The SF-36 and ARQOL survey scores were compared with normative data and each other. Group AR reported significant impacts (all p<0.05) in six out of eight SF-36 domains, the two insignificant domains being physical functioning and bodily pain. The only statistically significant difference in the eight SF-36 domains between the group ARIT and Taiwan norms was the general health domain (p<0.05). In the three ARQOL dimensions, the Pearson correlations of test-retest reliability were all greater than 0.9. Group Normal was found to have higher total and ARQOL subscale scores (p<0.05) than the other two groups, and group ARIT was also found to have significantly higher total and ARQOL subscale scores (p<0.05) than group AR, with the exception of medical resource utilization. There was no correlation between the SF-36 and ARQOL in group AR, but in group ARIT, the correlation between the six SF-36 domains and symptoms and activity restrictions in the three ARQOL dimensions were moderate to strong. In general, allergic rhinitis has great impact on generic QOL but generic QOL approaches the same level after immunotherapy. Although immunotherapy improves disease-specific QOL of allergic rhinitis patients, there still exist differences between patients with immunotherapy and normal persons. The high test-retest reliability of the ARQOL suggests that it is a stable instrument. Using the two different instrument is an objective method for assessing quality of life in patients with allergic rhinitis.
The aim of this study was to measure quality of life outcomes following immunotherapeutic treatment of allergic rthinitis. A cross-sectional study design with three groups was conducted. Twenty nine patients with allergic rhinitis (group AR) and twenty six patients with allergic rhinitis who had undergone immunotherapy (group ARIT) were evaluated with the generic outcome measure (validated Chinese version of the Medical Outcome Study Short-form 36 item Health Survey, SF-36) and disease-specific outcome measure (Allergic Rhinitis Quality of Life Instrument, ARQOL). Thirty people without allergic rhinitis (group Normal) also completed the ARQOL. The SF-36 and ARQOL survey scores were compared with normative data and each other. Group AR reported significant impacts (all p<0.05) in six out of eight SF-36 domains, the two insignificant domains being physical functioning and bodily pain. The only statistically significant difference in the eight SF-36 domains between the group ARIT and Taiwan norms was the general health domain (p<0.05). In the three ARQOL dimensions, the Pearson correlations of test-retest reliability were all greater than 0.9. Group Normal was found to have higher total and ARQOL subscale scores (p<0.05) than the other two groups, and group ARIT was also found to have significantly higher total and ARQOL subscale scores (p<0.05) than group AR, with the exception of medical resource utilization. There was no correlation between the SF-36 and ARQOL in group AR, but in group ARIT, the correlation between the six SF-36 domains and symptoms and activity restrictions in the three ARQOL dimensions were moderate to strong. In general, allergic rhinitis has great impact on generic QOL but generic QOL approaches the same level after immunotherapy. Although immunotherapy improves disease-specific QOL of allergic rhinitis patients, there still exist differences between patients with immunotherapy and normal persons. The high test-retest reliability of the ARQOL suggests that it is a stable instrument. Using the two different instrument is an objective method for assessing quality of life in patients with allergic rhinitis.