Validation of the Arabic version of the asthma control test

Abstract

PURPOSE:Asthma control test (ACT) has been devised to assess the degree of asthma control in out-patients setting. The aim of this study is to validate the Arabic version of ACT.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Patients completed the Arabic version of ACT during regular visit to one of two asthma specialists. Spirometry was obtained. The asthma specialist rated asthma control using a 5-point scale and indicated modification in management as step up, same or step down of asthma treatment.RESULTS:40 patients completed the study, the mean age was 32.6 + 14.0 years, mean FEV1 was 2.7 + 1.0 L (89.2% + 23.6% of predicted). The mean ACT score was 15.9 + 5.8; mean of specialist asthma control rating was 3.4 + 1.0. The internal consistency reliability of the 5-item ACT survey was alpha = 0.92. The correlation was moderate between ACT and specialists rating (r = 0.482, P = 0.002) and between ACT and treatment modification (r = −0.350, P = 0.027). The correlation between FEV1 and ACT was low (r = 0.185, P = 0.259). ACT distinguished between patients with different specialist rating (F = 3.37, P = 0.02) and the need to change therapy (F = 3.62, P = 0.037). The areas under the curve (ROC) for ACT, FEV1, and ACT and FEV1 as independent variables were 0.720, 0.721, and 0.766 respectively. All results were comparable to the initial work for development of ACT.CONCLUSION:The Arabic version of the ACT is a valid tool to assess asthma control. ACT correlates better with asthma specialist rating of asthma control than with FEV1.

The Asthma Control Test (ACT) as an alternative tool to Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guideline criteria for assessing asthma control in Vietnamese outpatients

“…The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was acceptable at 0.85 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.88) and of similar magnitude to previous findings for the ACT. 7,14,[17][18][19][20] The ACT has been shown to be a reliable tool by previous authors, 7,8,[14][15][16][17]21,22 and this is confirmed by this study in a Vietnamese outpatient setting in which Cronbach's alpha reached 0.83, indicating a high consistency among the answers to the five questions.…”

Asthma Control Assessment Tools

“…[18][19][20] For children, the cACT has more validation data than other tools that target children with asthma. [37][38][39] Also, the populations used in the validation studies vary between tools.…”

“…9,15,16 The substantially low correlations between the ACT scores and physiologic measures of asthma, such as FEV 1 values and F ENO , support the notion that asthma control cannot be inferred from physiologic measures alone. 14,17 Furthermore, the ACT has been validated in many languages [18][19][20][21][22][23] and in different settings, including in asthma specialist consultations, 9 in primary care, 13 in pharmacies, 24 by mail, 25 by speech-recognition telephone calls, 26 and over the internet. 27 …”

The Saudi initiative for asthma - 2012 update: Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma in adults and children

“…The SINA expert panel recommends the utilization of ACT to assess control as it is validated, practical, and simple to use (Evidence D) [Box 10]. [113114] A score of ≥20 indicates controlled asthma, 16–19 partially controlled asthma, and <16 indicates uncontrolled asthma. [5253] The clinically important change in ACT score is considered to be ≥3 units change.…”