Effectiveness of Beclomethasone Dipropionate Nasal Aerosol for Perennial Allergic Rhinitis

The RCAT will be completed each month and uses a one-week recall period. This questionnaire has six items that ask about nasal and other allergy symptoms and the control of these symptoms. Each question is responded to on a scale of 1-5. The responses are summed to evaluate a total score. A higher score (22-30) indicates that symptoms are well controlled. A lower score (5-21) indicates that rhinitis symptoms are not well controlled.

The TSQM-9 asks patients about their level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the medication they are taking in the study. The 3 subscales (effectiveness, convenience, global satisfaction) are rated separately, and there is no overall score. 7 questions have responses ranging from 1=extremely dissatisfied/difficult/inconvenient to 7=extremely satisfied/easy/convenient. 2 questions have responses ranging from 1=not at all confident/certain to 5=extremely confident/certain. Higher scores indicate greater satisfaction with the medication.

The WPAI-CIQ-AS is a 9-item, patient-reported scale that asks about the amount of time lost from work or academic classes due to allergies, as well as the impact of allergies on performing work in the workplace or in school or attending classes. It also asks about the effect of allergies on other usual daily activities. All questions ask for recall of the last 7 days. Outcomes are expressed as impairment percentages, with higher scores indicating greater impairment and less productivity.

The PSQI is a self-rated questionnaire which assesses sleep quality and disturbances over a 1 month interval. 19 items generate 7 "component" scores: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, daytime dysfunction. The scores of these components yield a "global score". A global score of 5 or greater indicates a poor sleeper.

This 14-item scale covers 5 domains: activity limitations, practical problems, nose symptoms, eye symptoms, other symptoms. Responses range from 0=not troubled to 6=extremely troubled. 5 component scores and a global score are calculated. Higher scores indicate being more troubled as a result of nose/eye symptoms during the past week.

Medical resources include in-patient care (hospitalizations, days of hospitalization), emergency room, and out-patient visits to physicians and other healthcare providers. The health services utilization survey asks for a 3 month recall and will be completed at baseline and months 3, 6, 9, and 12.