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Validation of the Brazilian version of the childhood asthma control test (c-ACT)
Suelen G Oliveira1, Edgar E Sarria2, Cristian Roncada1
1Centro Infant, Biomedical Research Institute, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Insights
The Brazilian Childhood Asthma Control Test (c-ACT) is a valid tool for assessing asthma control in children aged 4-11 years. This validated questionnaire provides reliable insights into pediatric asthma management.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Clinical Assessment
- Questionnaire Validation
Background:
- Children's symptom perception is crucial for effective asthma management.
- Validating assessment tools is essential for accurate disease control evaluation.
- The Childhood Asthma Control Test (c-ACT) measures asthma control from a child's perspective.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Childhood Asthma Control Test (c-ACT).
- To assess the reliability and validity of the c-ACT in Brazilian children aged 4-11 years.
- To establish c-ACT as a dependable tool for pediatric asthma control assessment.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study involving 105 children diagnosed with asthma.
- Translation and linguistic adaptation of the c-ACT following international guidelines.
- Data collection from a pediatric pulmonology outpatient clinic in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Main Results:
- The Brazilian c-ACT demonstrated significant correlations between total scores and individual items (r ≥ 0.3).
- Statistically significant differences in c-ACT scores were observed across GINA asthma control categories (P < 0.01).
- The c-ACT showed good reliability (α-C = 0.677) and sensitivity to change (effect size = 0.8).
Conclusions:
- The Brazilian Portuguese version of the Childhood Asthma Control Test is valid and reliable for children aged 4-11.
- The c-ACT can be effectively used to assess asthma control in Brazilian pediatric populations.
- This validated tool supports improved clinical decision-making in pediatric asthma management.
Background:
Children's perception of their symptoms has proved reliable and relevant to disease management and should be considered when assessing their asthma control. The aim of the study is to validate the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Childhood Asthma Control Test (c-ACT) in children aged 4-11 years.
Methods:
This is a cross-sectional study in children diagnosed with asthma undergoing treatment in a pediatric pulmonology outpatient clinic in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The translation and linguistic adaptation of the instrument were performed in accordance with international recommendations for questionnaire validation.
Results:
A total of 105 participants were included, aged 4-11 years.
Validity:
all correlations between the total score and items on the questionnaire were significant and obtained values of r ≥ 0.3, and c-ACT means showed statistically significant differences between the GINA categories (P < 0.01). The controlled asthma group showed significantly higher c-ACT scores than those of uncontrolled asthma group (controlled 22.0 ± 2.9 vs. uncontrolled 16.3 ± 5.3 P < 0.01); and partially controlled asthma group showed significantly higher c-ACT scores than those of uncontrolled asthma group (partially controlled 20.0 ± 4.0 vs. uncontrolled 16.3 ± 5.3 P = 0.03). Correlations between the c-ACT total score and spirometry and nitric oxide were poor (r = 0.020; P = 0.866 and r = 0.035; P = 0.753, respectively). Reliability: the α-C coefficient for the c-ACT total score was 0.677 (95%CI 0.573-0763). Sensitivity to change had an effect size of 0.8 and an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.598. No floor or ceiling effects were observed.
Conclusion:
The Brazilian version of the Childhood Asthma Control Test proved to be valid and reliable in children aged 4-11 years.
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