A cross sectional assessment of allergic rhinitis and asthma control at an Immunoallergology outpatient hospital setting using CARAT10 questionnaire

Introduction: the most recent guidelines on asthma and rhinitis management recommend the optimal control of both diseases as the primary goal of treatment. carat10 is a recently developed and validated portuguese questionnaire,which permits the simultaneous assessment of allergic rhinitis and asthma (ara) control. there is no published data about the use of this tool. aims: to assess ara control using carat10 in an immunoallergology hospital setting;. methods: patients with diagnosis of allergic rhinitis with or without asthma (positive aeroallergens prick-tests and/or positive specific ige) were sequentially enrolled and asked to fill in carat10 questionnaire at their first appointment. results: two hundred patients were included,mostly female (n. =. 142) with an average age of 33.6. ±. 12.3 years. ara was present in 86 patients while 114 had isolated allergic rhinitis. in ara group,86% scored carattotal≤24,meaning poor control. subscores revealed that 83% had poorly controlled rhinitis (caratr≤8) and 74% had poorly controlled asthma (carata<16). there were no age or gender related differences in ara control. in allergic rhinitis group (n. =. 114),89% were poorly controlled. conclusions: only 14% of patients presenting rhinitis and asthma had both diseases controlled. © 2012 sociedade portuguesa de pneumologia.