Remote Monitoring of Patients: Two New Smartphone App Symptom Severity Tests for Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis.

Rationale: The Asthma Control Test (ACT) and Rhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT) are validated questionnaires often used to monitor symptom control in asthma and rhinitis patients respectively. We developed two new smartphone app-based symptom score tests to enable patients to monitor their symptoms and share their health status remotely with their Allergy Specialist using patent pending HIPAA secure communication technologies.

Methods: Patients attending our clinic volunteered to take four symptoms tests simultaneously during office visits from August 24-31, 2015. Eighty-seven adult patients with rhinitis and thirty-five asthma patients completed the monthly ACT, weekly RCAT and two new app-based weekly questionnaires (the Allergy (Rhinitis) Severity Test and Asthma Severity Test). Test scores were compared as follows: ACT vs. Asthma Severity Test and RCAT vs. Allergy Severity Test. Total test scores, individual test question comparisons, and ability to identify out of control symptoms were determined.

Results: The paired t test analysis revealed a P value <0.0001 when comparing the ACT vs. the app-based remote monitoring Asthma Severity Test, with an ACT mean of 21.94 and standard deviation of 3.21; the mean test score for this same population taking the Asthma Severity Test was 4.43 with standard errors of the mean of 0.54 and 0.75 respectively. Test results for the RCAT and app-based Allergy (Rhinitis) Severity Test also revealed similarly positive correlations. All four questionnaires accurately identifed uncontrolled asthma and rhinitis patients.

Conclusions: The new app-based remote monitoring symptom score tests for asthma and rhinitis are comparable to the ACT and RCAT.