Table 4.
Frequency, severity, minimal important difference, and responsiveness of WURSS-21 Items
| Symptom | Item # on W-21 | Item# on W-44 | Frequency | Severity | MID | MSE | Responsiveness |
| How sick | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 4.13 ± 1.46 | 0.77 | 0.78 | 0.62 |
| Runny nose | 2 | 8 | 98.3 | 3.70 ± 1.77 | 0.56 | 1.48 | 0.33 |
| Plugged nose | 3 | 9 | 96.5 | 4.00 ± 1.79 | 0.57 | 1.54 | 0.32 |
| Sneezing | 4 | 10 | 95.7 | 3.34 ± 1.76 | 0.50 | 1.20 | 0.32 |
| Sore throat | 5 | 5 | 92.6 | 3.76 ± 1.85 | 0.49 | 1.00 | 0.35 |
| Scratchy throat | 6 | 6 | 96.1 | 3.82 ± 1.81 | 0.50 | 1.25 | 0.32 |
| Cough | 7 | 2 | 92.2 | 3.80 ± 1.84 | 0.46 | 1.76 | 0.25 |
| Hoarseness | 8 | 7 | 86.1 | 3.38 ± 2.01 | 0.41 | 1.29 | 0.26 |
| Head congestion | 9 | 28 | 93.0 | 4.03 ± 1.70 | 0.64 | 1.54 | 0.37 |
| Chest congestion | 10 | 29 | 75.7 | 3.76 ± 1.88 | 0.38 | 0.97 | 0.27 |
| Feeling tired | 11 | 18 | 99.6 | 4.33 ± 1.80 | 0.82 | 1.41 | 0.49 |
| Think clearly | 12 | 34 | 91.3 | 3.53 ± 1.68 | 0.54 | 1.02 | 0.38 |
| Sleep well | 13 | 36 | 93.9 | 4.17 ± 1.82 | 0.66 | 1.69 | 0.36 |
| Breathe easily | 14 | 37 | 96.5 | 3.84 ± 1.86 | 0.60 | 1.08 | 0.41 |
| Walk/Climb stairs | 15 | 38 | 89.6 | 3.75 ± 1.81 | 0.50 | 0.88 | 0.38 |
| Accomplish daily activities | 16 | 39 | 90.4 | 3.57 ± 1.74 | 0.57 | 1.08 | 0.39 |
| Work outside the home | 17 | 40 | 82.2 | 3.80 ± 1.84 | 0.48 | 1.16 | 0.32 |
| Work inside the home | 18 | 41 | 87.0 | 3.52 ± 1.81 | 0.51 | 0.80 | 0.40 |
| Interact with others | 19 | 42 | 86.5 | 3.50 ± 1.73 | 0.53 | 0.93 | 0.39 |
| Live your personal life | 20 | 43 | 88.3 | 3.58 ± 1.74 | 0.58 | 0.92 | 0.43 |
The first and last items on both the WURSS-21 and WURSS-44 differ from other items in terms of purpose and recall period, hence are not included in summary scores.
Frequency = Scored above zero at least once in first seven days of monitoring,
Severity = Mean severity on 7-point scale averaged over first three days; Calculated only for those with symptom present all three days. To weight each person's responses equally, data were first averaged within-person-over-time, then averaged among participants
Importance = Items were rated for importance on a 5-point scale at intake only, and only on the WURSS-44
MID = Minimal Important Difference = Mean day-to-day change for those rating themselves as "a little better" or "somewhat better" compared to the last time they filled out the questionnaire
MID and Guyatt's responsiveness index were 10.3, 0.71 for the WURSS-21 and 18.5, 0.75 for the WURSS-44, respectively
MSE = Mean squared error for all people who rated themselves as "the same" for two days in a row