Validity and the reliability of the Turkish version of the control of allergic rhinitis and asthma test for children (CARATKids)

Abstract

Aim: Asthma occurs in association with allergic rhinitis. Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test for Children (CARATKids) is a questionnaire to assess control of both diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the CARATKids in Turkish children aged 6–12 years. Methods: After a cultural adaptation process, children with asthma and allergic rhinitis were recruited. CARATKids, childhood Asthma Control Test, total nasal symptom score, visual analog scale scores for asthma and rhinitis, peak nasal inspiratory flow and peak expiratory flow values were obtained at baseline and after 4–6 weeks. The patients were classified according to the control level for asthma and rhinitis and stable/unstable groups. Discriminative properties, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, responsiveness, validity and minimal clinically important difference (MCID) were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed. Results: About 174 patients were included. The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.841. Correlation coefficients between CARATKids and external measures of control were 0.42–0.77, and between the score changes of CARATKids and external measures of control it was 0.56–0.78. Guyatt’s responsiveness index was −1.88, within-patient change of CARATKids score was significant. The intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.973. The MCID was 4. A cutoff score of ≤5 on the CARATKids had a sensitivity of 100% to distinguish the controlled groups according to both the GINA and ARIA. Conclusion: CARATKids is a reliable and valid tool to assess asthma and allergic rhinitis control in Turkish children. A score of ≤5 on CARATKids defines controlled disease for both diseases simultaneously.

Keywords:

• Allergic rhinitis
• asthma
• CARATKids
• pediatrics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Sedat Batmaz, MD for his assistance with the English language editing of the manuscript.