AUTHOR=Rocha Vânia , Jácome Cristina , Martins Vitória , Marques Alda 

TITLE=Are in Person and Telephone Interviews Equivalent Modes of Administrating the CAT, the FACIT-FS and the SGRQ in People With COPD?

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences

VOLUME=Volume 2 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/rehabilitation-sciences/articles/10.3389/fresc.2021.729190

DOI=10.3389/fresc.2021.729190

ISSN=2673-6861

ABSTRACT=Background: The COVID-19 pandemic brought numerous challenges, namely in routine assessment of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The COPD Assessment Test (CAT), the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness-Fatigue-Subscale (FACIT-FS) and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) are important patient-reported outcome measures used to assess people with COPD, but its face-to-face application has been compromised. The telephone interview offers a simple and effective alternative, yet uncertainty regarding its equivalence remains. This study aimed to establish the reliability and validity of the CAT, the FACIT-FS and the SGRQ administered by telephone interview in people with COPD.

Methods: Data from an observational prospective study including people with COPD were analysed. Participants answered to the CAT, FACIT-FS and SGRQ questionnaires in person and by telephone, with a maximum interval of 48-hours. Participants were randomly selected to answer first to the in-person questionnaire followed by telephone or vice versa. Reliability measures included internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha, test-retest reliability with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1), test-retest measurement error with the standard error of measurement (SEM) and agreement with the Bland and Altman 95% limits of agreement. Validity was assessed with the Spearman correlation (rho).

Results: Fifty-five people with COPD (44 men; 68.1±7.9years; FEV1:59.1±20.3%predicted) were included. Similar internal consistency was observed between in person versus(vs.) telephone interview for the CAT (0.82vs.0.84), the FACIT-FS (0.83vs.0.84) and the SGRQ (0.92vs.0.93). Test-retest reliability was excellent, with an ICC2,1 of 0.77(95%CI:0.65;0.86), 0.86(95%CI:0.77;0.92) and 0.94(95%CI:0.90;0.96) for the CAT, FACIT-FS and SGRQ total scores, respectively. The SEM showed a low level of associated measurement error and the Bland and Altman plots illustrated a good level of agreement between both modes of administration, with no evidence of systematic bias. Robust positive correlations (rho 0.87-0.94, p<0.001) were found for the CAT, FACIT-FS and SGRQ total scores applied by both methods.

Conclusion: The telephonic administration of the CAT, the FACIT-FS and the SGRQ are a valid and reliable alternative approach to in person interviews for monitoring symptoms and health-related quality of life in people with COPD. The telephone might be an important add-on for personalized assessment and management of COPD thru remote monitoring.