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Cut-off points for defining asthma control in three versions of the Asthma Control Questionnaire
Joaquin Sastre1, Jose Olaguibel, Jose Maria Vega
1Fundación Jimenez Díaz, Alergia, Madrid, Spain.
Insights
This study determined optimal cut-off points for three Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) versions. Results show differences in cut-offs, aiding better asthma control assessment in clinical practice.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Clinical Trials
- Asthma Research
Background:
- The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) is vital for assessing asthma control.
- Clinical practice requires precise cut-off points for accurate asthma control classification.
- Three versions of the ACQ are commonly used: ACQ-FEV₁, ACQ-PEF, and ACQ-wLF.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish optimal cut-off points for three ACQ versions.
- To differentiate between various levels of asthma control in a clinical setting.
- To compare the performance of ACQ-FEV₁, ACQ-PEF, and ACQ-wLF.
Main Methods:
- 607 adult asthma patients from 43 Spanish outpatient clinics were enrolled.
- Patients were stratified by asthma severity for evaluation.
- Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated for each ACQ version.
Main Results:
- Optimal cut-off points were identified: ACQ-FEV₁ at 1.14, ACQ-PEF at 1.28, and ACQ-wLF at 0.83.
- Correct classification percentages were 76.5% (ACQ-FEV₁), 77.3% (ACQ-PEF), and 77.2% (ACQ-wLF).
- ACQ-wLF demonstrated a significantly greater area under the ROC curve (AUC) compared to ACQ-FEV₁ (p = .004).
Conclusions:
- The study identified distinct cut-off points for well-controlled asthma across the three ACQ versions.
- These findings reflect real-world clinical practice and aid in asthma management.
- The ACQ-wLF may offer a more sensitive measure for asthma control assessment.
Introduction:
The Asthma Control Questionnaire™ (ACQ) was developed to assess asthma control. The objective of this study is to determine the cut-off points that best differentiate between several types of asthma control in three versions of the ACQ used in clinical practice.
Materials And Methods:
It appears 607 adult asthmatic patients (61% female) were recruited from 43 outpatient clinics in Spain. Once the patients were stratified by severity of asthma, they were then evaluated in an epidemiological study. To determine the optimum cut-off points, the area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, as well as sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV, respectively), was calculated for each version of the ACQ (ACQ-FEV₁ (forced expiratory volume in the first second), ACQ-PEF (peak expiratory flow), and ACQ-wLF (without lung function)).
Results:
The optimal cut-off for ACQ-FEV₁ was 1.14 (the sum of 8 points/7 items), for ACQ-PEF 1.28 (the sum of 9 points/7 items), and for ACQ-wLF 0.83 (the sum of 5 points/6 items), and the percentage of correctly classified patients was 76.5%, 77.3%, and 77.2%, respectively. A comparison of ROCs obtained from the three versions of the ACQ shows that ACQ-wLF had a significantly greater area under the curves (AUC) (p = .004) than ACQ-FEV₁. Patients were considered as having some control if their ACQ-FEV₁ score fell between 1.14 and 1.57, if ACQ-PEF values were between 1.28 and 1.57, or if ACQ-wLF scores ranged between 0.83 and 1.5.
Conclusions:
Our study, which was carried out in a manner which more closely reflects clinical practice, reveals differences in cut-offs used to define well-controlled asthma among three versions of the ACQ.
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