The Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey is responsive, reliable, and valid

Barrett, Bruce; Brown, Roger; Mundt, Marlon; Safdar, Nasia; Dye, Leota; Maberry, Rob; Alt, Jennifer

doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2004.11.019

Cited by 139 publications

(175 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Power estimates were informed by data collected during our previously published echinacea trial 41 and by validation studies on the WURSS-21 instrument. [43][44][45][46] The effects of assignment to placebo-related and clinician-related treatment groups were tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA), analysis of covariance, and multivariate regression. Assessment and response to missing data followed Schafer's approach.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Placebo Effects and the Common Cold: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Barrett

Brown

Rakel

et al. 2011

The Annals of Family Medicine

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PURPOSE We wanted to determine whether the severity and duration of illness caused by the common cold are infl uenced by randomized assignment to openlabel pills, compared with conventional double-blind allocation to active and placebo pills, compared with no pills at all. METHODSWe undertook a randomized controlled trial among a population with new-onset common cold. Study participants were allocated to 4 parallel groups: (1) those receiving no pills, (2) those blinded to placebo, (3) those blinded to echinacea, and (4) those given open-label echinacea. Primary outcomes were illness duration and area-under-the-curve global severity. Secondary outcomes included neutrophil count and interleukin 8 levels from nasal wash at intake and 2 days later. RESULTSOf 719 randomized study participants, 2 were lost and 4 exited early. Participants were 64% female, 88% white, and aged 12 to 80 years. Mean illness duration for each group was 7.03 days for those in the no-pill group, 6.87 days for those blinded to placebo, 6.34 days for those blinded to echinacea, and 6.76 days for those in the open-label echinacea group. Mean global severity scores for the 4 groups were no pills, 286; blinded to placebo, 264; blinded to echinacea, 236; and open-label echinacea, 258. Between-group differences were not statistically signifi cant. Comparing the no-pill with blinded to placebo groups, differences (95% confi dence interval [CI]) were -0.16 days (95% CI, -0.90 to 0.58 days) for illness duration and -22 severity points (95% CI, -70 to 26 points) for global severity. Comparing the group blinded to echinacea with the open-label echinacea group, differences were 0.42 days (95% CI, -0.28 to 1.12 days) and 22 severity points (95% CI, -19 to 63 points). Median change in interleukin 8 concentration and neutrophil cell count, respectively by group, were 30 pg/mL and 1 cell for the no-pill group, 39 pg/mL and 1 cell for the group binded to placebo, 58 pg/mL and 2 cells for the group blinded to echinacea, and 70 pg/mL and 1 cell for the group with open-label echinacea, also not statistically signifi cant. Among the 120 participants who at intake rated echinacea's effectiveness as greater than 50 on a 100-point scale for which 100 is extremely effective, illness duration was 2.58 days shorter (95% CI, -4.47 to -0.68 days) in those blinded to placebo rather than no pill, and mean global severity score was 26% lower but not signifi cantly different 95% CI,. In this subgroup, neither duration nor severity differed signifi cantly between the group blinded to echinacea and the open-label echinacea group.CONCLUSIONS Participants randomized to the no-pill group tended to have longer and more severe illnesses than those who received pills. For the subgroup who believed in echinacea and received pills, illnesses were substantively shorter and less severe, regardless of whether the pills contained echinacea. These fi ndings support the general idea that beliefs and feelings about treatments may be important and perhaps should be taken into consid...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Placebo Effects and the Common Cold: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Barrett

Brown

Rakel

et al. 2011

The Annals of Family Medicine

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“…In order to control for acute illness before, during and after the downhill run, which could affect the immune variables measured in the study, participants completed the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey (WURSS). 14 The WURSS is a validated, evaluative, illness-specific quality-of-life instrument, designed to assess the negative impact of the common cold. The survey examines the presence and level of severity of 32 upper respiratory tract symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing, sore throat and cough.…”

Section: Methods Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complement, immunoglobulin and creatine kinase response in black and white males after muscle-damaging exercise

McKune¹,

Semple

Smith

et al. 2009

S. Afr. j. sports med.

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Racial disparities have been demonstrated in athletic performance 1 and in the predisposition towards specific diseases.2 Immune/inflammatory pathways may be important in the pattern and/or progression of disease. 3,4 Research has demonstrated differences in the level of circulating immune/inflammatory markers as well as genotypic differences which may help to explain disease predisposition in specific racial groups. 3,4 In contrast, there is limited information relating to immune/inflammatory responses to exercise between racial groups. Such information is particularly relevant -strenuous exercise has been shown to alter immune/inflammatory responses predisposing athletes to infection and possibly injury, 5 which would ultimately impact on training and performance.Eccentric and/or strenuous unaccustomed exercise has been shown to elicit changes in skeletal muscle morphology.6 These changes are typically accompanied by increases in circulating creatine kinase (CK), local muscle swelling and soreness as well as alterations in circulating inflammatory markers such as leucocytes and cytokines. 7-9 Based on these observations, researchers have utilised exercise, particularly eccentrically biased exercise, to induce muscle damage and investigate immune/inflammatory sequelae.The key components of innate and adaptive immunity are the complement system and immunoglobulins, respectively. The complement system is composed of a number of proteins that are intricately involved in a variety of immune-related functions. Complement has been described as an important role player in cellular activation, chemotaxis, inflammation and clearance of immune complexes. [10][11][12] Immunoglobulins are crucial components of humoral immunity, having pathogen neutralisation and orIgInal research arTIcle complement, immunoglobulin and creatine kinase response in black and white males after muscle-damaging exercise abstract objectives. To determine the effect of eccentrically biased exercise and ethnic group on circulating levels of complement, immunoglobulin creatine kinase. Seven black and 8 white males (18 -22 years), active but untrained, participated in the study. Subjects performed a 60-minute downhill run on a treadmill (gradient -13.5%) at a speed eliciting 75% of their VO2 peak on a level grade. Venipunctures were performed before, immediately after and then at 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours afterwards. Plasma creatine kinase (CK) activity, serum complement (C3, C4) and immunoglobulin (total IgG, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA) concentrations were compared using a repeated measures ANOVA.results. There was an interaction (p=0.0055) and ethnic group effect (p<0.0001) for CK activity with consistently higher levels in the black group. CK increased over time after the run, peaking at 12 h for both groups. C3, C4, total IgG, IgG1, IgG3, and IgA were significantly higher (ethnic group effect, p<0.001), and IgG2 significantly lower (ethnic group effect, p<0.001) in the black group. Significantly higher resting concentrations of total IgG...

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“…Then on the same evening ("Day 1") and for an additional two consecutive days ("Day 2", "Day 3") after purchasing VSCC participants were asked to complete a paper diary at home. All paper diaries included Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey (WURSS-44), a validated instrument for evaluating the quality of life in patients with symptoms of acute upper respiratory tract infections [13]. The Day 1 paper diary included an evaluation of the quality of the advice they received from the study pharmacist when discussing VSCC.…”

Section: Study Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observational Study of a Multi-Active Ingredient Over-the-Counter Cold Remedy Following Active Pharmacist Recommendation

Phillipson¹,

Hull²,

Samoliński³

2017

OJRD

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Real-world user satisfaction with a fixed dose combination over-the-counter cold remedy (Vicks Symptomed Complete Cytrynowy hot drink; VSCC) was evaluated in a prospective, non-comparative, observational study involving 176 pharmacies in Poland from February to April 2015. 1391 participants completed a questionnaire in the pharmacy and several paper questionnaires at home following use of the product at their own discretion. Participants returned their completed questionnaires to the pharmacy. 1356 participants were included in the intent-to-treat analysis. Participants highly valued the advice from their pharmacist (97%, P < 0.0001, important vs. not important) and thought the quality of that advice was good (93%, P < 0.0001, good/very good vs. very bad-fair). 96% of participants found VSCC to be effective in some way against their cold symptoms (P < 0.0001, effective vs. not effective) and 68% of them stated that it was better than any other cold therapy they had used before (P < 0.0001, better/best vs. same/worse). Adverse event reporting was very low.

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The Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey is responsive, reliable, and valid

Abstract: The construct validity of WURSS-44 is supported by measures of reliability, responsiveness, importance to patients, and convergence. A shorter version, the WURSS-21, may be even more responsive.

Cited by 139 publications

References 24 publications

Placebo Effects and the Common Cold: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Placebo Effects and the Common Cold: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Complement, immunoglobulin and creatine kinase response in black and white males after muscle-damaging exercise

Observational Study of a Multi-Active Ingredient Over-the-Counter Cold Remedy Following Active Pharmacist Recommendation

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