Levels of acceptance of asthma control test questionnaire among Saudi patients attending 5 tertiary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia

To explore the levels of acceptance of asthma control test [ACT] among Saudi patients. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 5 hospitals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, namely; Security Forces Hospital, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, King Khalid University Hospital, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, and Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital, from the first of September to the 30th of November 2006. Patients attending the pulmonary clinic were asked to answer the ACT. This was followed by an interview to assess their view on the questions and their level of difficulty. The total number of patients was 1060. Males constituted 41%. A third of the patients were uneducated. The majority of patients [94%] found the ACT questions easy. The younger patients found the ACT questions easier to answer than the older patients. Ninety-five percent of males found the ACT easy, while only 92% of females found the ACT easy. Educated patients found the ACT questions easy to perform more often than uneducated patients. There are no significant differences for age and gender, and for the question on whether the test helped to understand the patient's condition. There are no significant differences for age and education, and for the question on whether the patient is willing to perform the test in each clinic visit. The majority of Saudi patients found the ACT easy, and they are willing to repeat the test every clinic visit

Asthma control assessment using asthma control test among patients attending 5 tertiary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia

Evaluation of asthma control using the Asthma Control Test ACT. The ACT was used to assess asthma control among patients with bronchial asthma visiting pulmonary clinics in 5 major tertiary care hospitals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Each hospital had a target of 300 patients to recruit over the period of the study from the 1st September to 30th November 2006. The total number of patients studied was 1,060 patients. Males constituted 442 42% and females constituted 618 58%, the median age was 38.56 years range 15-75. One third of patients had no formal education. The ACT score revealed uncontrolled asthma in 677 64%, well-controlled asthma in 328 31%, and complete controlled in 55 5%. There are no significant correlations between the age below 40 and above 40 years and level of asthma control p=0.12. However, the younger age group less than 20 had better control of asthma in comparison with older patients p=0.0001. There was a significant correlation between level of asthma control and gender, males 44% had better asthma control than females 30% p=0.0001. Control of bronchial asthma is still a major concern in our population. Further studies are needed to explore the factors leading to poor asthma control