Symptom Score for Allergic Rhinitis

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of allergic rhinitis; and the correlation between Score for Allergic Rhinitis (SFAR) and nasal smear eosinophil count among patients with nasal symptoms.

Method: This cross-sectional prospective study was conducted on patients attending ENT clinic, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Information on the 8 parameters symptom score were collected using semi-structured questionnaire by interview. Nasal smear slides were air-dried, fixed with 95% alcohol, stained using May-Grünwald-Giemsa stain, and examined under light microscope.

Results: Of 275 participants seen during the 1-year study, 116 (42.2%) were males. The mean age was 38.5 years; range being 14 to 75 years. Eighty-one (29.5%) were diagnosed with allergic rhinitis using nasal smear eosinophil count. The most common symptom was excessive sneezing, involving 93% of allergic rhinitis patients (P-value .001). The prevalence of allergic rhinitis using SFAR was 31.6%. The SFAR cut-off was set at 8 and above (P-value .001). The sensitivity and specificity for SFAR was 94.8% (CI 90.5, 97.4) and 95.1% (CI 87.2, 98.4), respectively. A high Spearman correlation, 0.88, was obtained for SFAR when correlated with nasal smear eosinophil count.

Conclusion: The prevalence of allergic rhinitis using SFAR was 31.6%. The study shows that SFAR can be used as a simple, valid diagnostic tool in allergic rhinitis. This is important in rural settings where access to laboratory investigations might not be readily available.