Source: Annual Congress 2003 - COPD: a multicomponent disease
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

The upper and lower airway are in continuity yet little is known about the upper airway in COPD. Pilot data from the East London COPD study suggests that nasal symptoms are common in this disease; we now present data on SNOT-20 scores from this cohort. The SNOT-20 (Sino-Nasal Outcome Test) is a validated, disease-specific health related quality of life questionnaire widely used for the assessment of rhinosinusitis. Scores are expressed between 0 and 5, with a higher score representing a worse quality of life. Control patients with and without rhinosinusitis in a validation exercise had mean scores of 1.9 and 0.6 respectively (Piccirillo JF et al, Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2002;126:41-47). We administered the SNOT-20 questionnaire to 54 patients with COPD, mean (SD) age 65.8 (6.9) yrs, FEV₁ 1.1 (0.4) l and median (IQR) exacerbation frequency 2.5 (1.7-3.6) /yr. We related SNOT-20 score to demographic and clinical parameters. 46 (85%) patients admitted to experiencing symptoms of sneezing, rhinorrhoea, post-nasal drip, anosmia or nasal blockage. The mean (SD) SNOT-20 score was 1.2 (0.8). The SNOT-20 score was not significantly related to age, sex, current smoking status, FEV₁, exacerbation frequency or SGRQ (St. George‘s Respiratory Questionnaire). We conclude that whilst nasal symptoms are common in COPD and cause some impairment to quality of life, this is not as prominent as in a population with documented rhinosinusitis. In addition, data from this questionnaire suggests that nasal symptoms are unrelated to clinical markers of COPD disease severity.

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J. R. Hurst, C. Hopkins, T. M. A. Wilkinson, G. C. Donaldson, J. A. Wedzicha (London, United Kingdom). Upper airway symptoms and quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Eur Respir J 2003; 22: Suppl. 45, 3377

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