Clinimetric evaluation of the Sinonasal Outcome Test-16

This study describes the reliability validity, and responsiveness of the Si nonasal Outcome Test-16 (SNOT-16), a rhinosinusitis-specific health-related quality-of-life instrument, in the University of Washington Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery patient population. The SNOT-16 was co mpleted by 47, 24, and 22 patients at weeks 0, 6, and 12, respectively In a ddition, ail 47 patients completed the Short-form 36-item Health Survey (SF -36) at week 0. Furthermore, an additional cohort of patients from the otol ogy clinic who denied symptoms of rhinosinusitis or previous physician diag noses of rhinosinusitis were asked to complete the SNOT-16. These scores we re subsequently used to determine discriminant validity of the instrument. Cronbach's alpha was 0.89, indicating a high degree of homogeneity of the t est items. The SNOT-16 demonstrated excellent discriminant validity and mea n total SNOT-16 scores were significantly correlated with patient-reported overall health, overall bother, and 7 of the 8 SF-36 subscales. The standar dized response mean calculated between weeks 0 and 6 was 0.69, indicating m oderate sensitivity to change. We conclude that the SNOT-16 is a reliable, valid, and responsive instrument for measuring rhinosinusitis-specific heal th-related quality of life.