TY - JOUR T1 - Association between control of rhinitis and control of asthma as assessed by validated questionnaires JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 44 IS - Suppl 58 SP - P4022 AU - Silviya Novakova AU - Nonka Mateva AU - Vasil Dimitrov AU - Todor Popov Y1 - 2014/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P4022.abstract N2 - Background. The connection and interplay between upper and lower airways have long been established and have served as basis for the “Allergy Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma” /ARIA/ global guideline. Control is considered the most important indicator of adequate management of both diseases and questionnaires have been developed as simple tools to assess it.The aim of our study was to explore the concordance between asthma control and rhinitis control in a random population of patients with both asthma and rhinitis by means of internationally recognized questionnaires for control validated in Bulgarian language.Methods. 35 patients, [mean age 33, range 12 - 63 years], with rhinitis and asthma were recruited for the study. The level of asthma control was assessed by the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) and that of rhinitis control by theRhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT) recently validated in Bulgarian language.Results. Out of the 25 patients with controlled asthma. 21 (84, 0%) were with controlled rhinitis, while out of the 10 uncontrolled asthmatics 9 (90, 0%) were with uncontrolled rhinitis. The discordant results were 4 patients with uncontrolled rhinitis in the controlled asthma group and 1 patient with controlled rhinitis in the uncontrolled asthma group. There was a highly significant inverse correlation between the ACQ and RCAT 1: R=-0.64, P<0.001.Conclusion. Control of asthma and control of rhinitis were highly concordant in a random population of patients with both diseases. The relatively higher number of discordant cases of uncontrolled rhinitis among controlled asthmatics reemphasizes the need to actively seek and treat nasal symptoms in asthma patients. ER -