PSYCHOMETRIC AND CLINIMETRIC VALIDITY OF THE 31-ITEM RHINOSINUSITIS OUTCOME MEASURE (RSOM-31)

Descriptions of rhinosinusitis (RS) patients and evaluation of treatme nt effectiveness are currently hindered by the lack of a valid measure of health status and quality of life. The RSOM contains 31 RS-specifi c items (e.g., runny nose, cough, facial pain/pressure), grouped into 7 domains (nasal, eye, sleep, ear and general symptoms; practical prob lems, and emotional consequences), and was created from discussions wi th RS patients. Two categorical rating scales were selected for patien ts to indicate the Magnitude and Importance of each item. The RSOM sco re is calculated as the sum of the Magnitude X Importance scores. The goal of this project was to validate the RSOM-31. In 142 patients who completed the RSOM, the average age was 45 and there were 86 women. Th e average total RSOM score was 5.8 (0.8-15.1 = good-bad). The domains most affected were sleep (7.7), general problems (6.4), nasal (6.3), a nd emotional (6.2). The RSOM score cor related significantly with an o verall global quality of life question (r = 0.36); and the Vitality (r = 0.50), General Health (r = 0.47), Social Functioning (r = 0.46), an d Role-Physical (r = 0.41) sub-scales of the Medical Outcomes Study Sh ort-Form 36. The average total RSOM score decreased over time (indicat ing improvement) and was correlated with the patient's assessment of t heir response to treatment (F Value 6.49, P < 0.0001). This study demo nstrates that the 31-item RSOM is a valid measure of RS health status and quality of life.