# Development of the Sinus Headache Screener to identify patients with non-rhinogenic facial pain compared with chronic rhinosinusitis in rhinology clinics

## TL;DR

Researchers created a questionnaire called the Sinus Headache Screener to help doctors tell the difference between facial pain not caused by sinus issues and chronic sinusitis.

## Contribution

The study developed a new patient-reported screening tool to distinguish non-rhinogenic facial pain from chronic rhinosinusitis.

## Key findings

- The Sinus Headache Screener was developed through interviews and iterative refinement with 26 patients.
- The final questionnaire includes 89 items across eight sections covering symptoms, triggers, and treatments.
- This tool could improve diagnosis and treatment of facial pain in clinical settings.

## Abstract

To develop a patient-reported screening tool, the Sinus Headache Screener (SHS), to differentiate non-rhinogenic facial pain (NRFP) from chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) using qualitative research methods.

We conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 English-speaking adults (15 NRFP, 11 CRS). Interviews included concept elicitation and cognitive interviewing techniques. Content analysis was used to analyze transcripts, and items were iteratively refined over three rounds of interviews.

The final list of potential SHS items consisted of 89 items across 8 sections, including symptoms, episode characteristics, triggers, and treatments.

This study represents the first step in developing a screening questionnaire to identify patients with NRFP in clinical settings. The item list provides a foundation for future quantitative studies to refine the questionnaire, potentially leading to more appropriate diagnosis and treatment of patients presenting with facial pain or pressure.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41687-025-00956-4.