title: Validation of control of allergic rhinitis and asthma test for children (CARATKids)--a prospective multicenter study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test for Children (CARATKids) is the first questionnaire that assesses simultaneously allergic rhinitis and asthma control in children. It was recently developed, but redundancy of questions and its psychometric properties were not assessed. This study aimed to (i) establish the final version of the CARATKids questionnaire and (ii) evaluate its reliability, responsiveness, cross-sectional validity, and longitudinal validity.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective observational study was conducted in 11 Portuguese centers. During two visits separated by 6 wk, CARATKids, visual analog scale scales and childhood asthma control test were completed, and participant's asthma and rhinitis were evaluated by his/her physician without knowing the questionnaires' results. Data-driven item reduction was conducted, and internal consistency, responsiveness analysis, and associations with external measures of disease status were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 113 children included, 101 completed both visits. After item reduction, the final version of the questionnaire has 13 items, eight to be answered by the child and five by the caregiver. Its Cronbach's alpha was 0.80, the Guyatt's responsiveness index was -1.51, and a significant (p < 0.001) within-patient change of CARATKids score in clinical unstable patients was observed. Regarding cross-sectional validity, correlation coefficients of CARATKids with the external measures of control were between 0.45 and -0.69 and met the a priori predictions. In the longitudinal validity assessment, the correlation coefficients between the score changes of CARATKids and those of external measures of control ranged from 0.34 to 0.46.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CARATKids showed adequate psychometric properties and is ready to be used in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: CINTESIS - Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Daniela V B R
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Linhares
authors.forename: João Almeida L
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: da Fonseca
authors.forename: Luís Miguel
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Borrego
authors.forename: Agueda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matos
authors.forename: Ana Margarida
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sá-Sousa
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gaspar
authors.forename: Cândida
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Filomena F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Rebelo
authors.forename: José Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cidrais Rodrigues
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Onofre
authors.forename: Luís Filipe
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Azevedo
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alfaro
authors.forename: Maria José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Calix
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amaral
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodrigues-Alves
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Correia de Sousa
authors.forename: Mário
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morais-Almeida
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D011174:Portugal; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D065631:Rhinitis, Allergic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: allergic rhinitis; asthma; child; patient-reported outcomes; questionnaires