Translation into Portuguese and validation of the Rhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT) questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION The Rhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT) is a simple self-administered questionnaire developed to assess control of rhinitis. OBJECTIVES Translate into Brazilian Portuguese and validate the RCAT. METHODS The RCAT was translated into Portuguese by two translators and subsequently back-translated into English. It was then applied to 141 adolescents with allergic rhinitis. RESULTS The internal consistency of the RCAT was 0.73. The questionnaire scores showed significant correlation with total nasal and extra-nasal symptom scores and nasal peak inspiratory flow (r: -0.73, -0.58 and 0.52, respectively; p<0.001) and were significantly different when divided by physician global assessment and total nasal symptom score severity. Cutoff points between 22 and 24 had the higher areas under the ROC curve to identify patients with rhinitis control. Total nasal and extra-nasal symptom scores were significantly different when a cutoff point of 22 was used (median: 4.0 vs. 8.0 and 2.0 vs. 5.0; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The Brazilian Portuguese version of the RCAT was shown to be a valid and discriminant tool to identify patients with controlled and uncontrolled allergic rhinitis.