Background The 28-item Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (R
QLQ) has strong measurement properties but for large clinical trials, surve
ys and practice monitoring, where high efficiency is important, a shorter q
uestionnaire is needed.
Objective To develop and validate an abbreviated version of the RQLQ.
Methods Using five RQLQ databases, items with high item-item correlations w
ere combined and then the highest scoring items were selected for the MiniR
QLQ (14 questions). There are five domains: activity limitations (standardi
zed). practical problems and nose symptoms, eye symptoms and other symptoms
. The MiniRQLQ, which is self-administered. was tested in a 5-week observat
ional study in 100 adults with symptomatic rhinoconjunctivitis. Patients co
mpleted the MiniRQLQ, the RQLQ, and other measures of health status at base
line. 1 and 5 weeks.
Results In patients whose rhinoconjunctivitis was stable between clinic vis
its, reliability (reproducibility and ability to discriminate between patie
nts of different impairment) was very acceptable for the MiniRQLQ (ICC = 0.
93) but not quite as good as for the RQLQ (ICC = 0.97). Responsiveness to c
hange in clinical status was better with the MiniRQLQ than the RQLQ (P = 0.
044). Construct validity (correlation with other indices of health status)
was strong for both the MiniRQLQ and the RQLQ. Concordance between the two
instruments was high (ICC = 0.87).
Conclusions The MiniRQLQ has strong measurement properties and measures the
same construct as the original RQLQ. The choice of questionnaire should de
pend on the task at hand.