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Current health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaires may not be enough to truly gauge the physical, emotional, social, and economic impacts of ocular allergies (OA) according to a recent assessment of the literature published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. The researchers say combining 2 particular questionnaires — the Quality of Life of Children with Allergic Keratoconjunctivitis (QUICK) and the Mini Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (miniRQLQ) — offers a good balance of time-efficiency and information gathering.1 Ocular allergy can have a significant impact on the quality of life (QOL) of affected individuals, the report shows. While multiple studies on OA exist, gaps in clinical knowledge of patient experience persist.
The clinical commentary examined the available QOL questionnaires for patients who suffered from ocular allergy and found that, while HRQOL questionnaires are relevant when gauging the severity of the condition, many current questionnaires were limited to rhinoconjunctivitis and did not include other types of ocular allergy.
The study provided analyses of 8 questionnaires that directly addressed ocular allergy, as well as a handful of others that reviewed related subjects. The review analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of each questionnaire. The investigators found that several of the questionnaires lack time efficiency, while others provided inconsistent results due to their subjective nature. The commentary called for further research that would lead to the formation of questionnaires that fit etiologies of ocular allergy outside of rhinoconjunctivitis and that include seasonal allergic conjunctivitis, perennial allergic conjunctivitis, vernal keratoconjunctivitis, and atopic keratoconjunctivitis.
The examiners noted that used together, the QUICK questionnaire and the MiniRQLQ provide a good balance of QOL and symptom questions while also being efficient.
A letter to the editor in response to the commentary pointed out that patient response outcome measures within ocular allergy research are lagging in efficacy and may benefit from the application of computer-adaptive testing. In particular, the reply offered the Rasch analysis as a potential tool for measuring the impact of ocular allergy.2
Reference
1. Mikhail E, Azizoglu S, Gokhale M, Suphioglu C. Questionnaires Assessing the Quality of Life of Ocular Allergy Patients. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2020;8(9):2945-2952. doi:10.1016/j.jaip.2020.04.023.
2. Kandel H, Watson S. Quality-of-life researchers in ocular allergy may benefit from the newer methods. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2021;9(1):595-596.doi:10.1016/j.jaip.2020.09.067.
