Can a Pretreatment Visual Analog Scale Predict Treatment Outcome in Allergic Rhinitis?

Background: The visual analogue scale (VAS) is a simple and useful tool to assess the severity of allergic rhinitis. Whether a pretreatment VAS score can guide appropriate medication is unclear. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a pretreatment VAS score could be used to predict therapeutic response. Methods: A prospective 4-week cohort study involving 101 allergic rhinitis patients was carried out. All patients were treated with triamcinolone acetonide aqueous nasal spray 220 μg once daily for 28 days. The treatment outcomes were evaluated using VAS scores (0–10 cm), total nasal symptoms scores (TNSSs), nasal mucociliary clearance times (NMCCTs), and global symptom controls (GSCs). The minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) method was used to separate the patients into with and without improvement groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive value of pretreatment VAS scores in relation to MCIDs after treatment. Results: Pretreatment VAS scores showed a positive correlation with pretreatment TNSSs and NMCCTs (ρ = 0.66, p < 0.001 and r = 0.44, p < 0.001, respectively), and a negative correlation with GSCs after treatment (r = –0.53, p < 0.001). The MCID values of TNSSs and NMCCTs were 3.19 and 2.78, respectively. The cutoff value of pretreatment VAS ranged between 6.5 and 7.7 points, with an average value of 7.1. Conclusion: A pretreatment VAS score of 7 or higher was associated with an unfavorable treatment outcome, which suggests the potential therapeutic predictive value of VAS scoring.