Validation of a pediatric cough questionnaire.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Pulmonology
• Quality of Life Measurement
• Clinical Assessment Tools

Background:

• Chronic cough significantly impacts children's quality of life.
• Existing tools for assessing cough-specific quality of life in pediatric populations are limited.
• A validated, reliable, and easy-to-use questionnaire is needed for clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the validity and reliability of a five-item pediatric cough questionnaire (PCQ).
• To assess the PCQ's ability to measure cough-specific quality of life in children.
• To evaluate the PCQ's utility in longitudinally tracking changes in pediatric cough.

Main Methods:

• A five-item pediatric cough questionnaire (PCQ) was developed, covering frequency, sleep disturbance (child and parent), severity, and bothersomeness.
• The PCQ was administered to parents of 120 children with chronic cough at three time points: initial visit, within 2 weeks (test-retest), and 3 weeks post-treatment.
• Statistical analyses, including Spearman correlation, were used to assess test-retest reliability, internal consistency, discriminant validity, and convergent validity.

Main Results:

• The PCQ demonstrated good test-retest reliability for all five items (Spearman correlations ranging from 0.38 to 0.5, p < 0.001).
• Statistical analyses confirmed the questionnaire's internal consistency, discriminant validity, and convergent validity.
• The PCQ accurately reflected parents' perceptions of changes in their child's cough following treatment.

Conclusions:

• The five-item pediatric cough questionnaire (PCQ) is a valid and reliable instrument.
• The PCQ is suitable for longitudinally monitoring children with chronic cough in clinical settings.
• This tool can aid in assessing the impact of chronic cough on a child's quality of life and treatment effectiveness.