If you have asthma, take this test and share the results with your doctor.
The Asthma Control Test (ACT) is designed to give you an idea of how well your asthma has been controlled over the last 4 weeks. It can also help your doctor determine how well the treatment plan is working for you.
The test is for ages 12 and older. It consists of 5 simple questions which are scored individually. The maximum score is 25. If your score is less than 20, it means that your asthma is not well controlled. The test can be taken at any time. and since asthma symptoms may vary it may be worthwhile to use this test at regular intervals or if you sense a change in your condition.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recently recognized ACT as a validated instrument for the assessment and monitoring of asthma in its Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma.
4 comments:
I am a practicing physician and did not know this was a validated measure for tracking asthmatics. Does it replace the peak flow meter?
Keep up the good work!
It can be used in place of the peak flow or in combination with the peak flow. The recommendation is fairly new - as of end of 2007.
Most of the specialists with whom I've spoken are using this instead of the peak flow.
Iagree with validity of the ACT. It however can not supplant the peak flow for acute flare and care. The peak flow gives current information and can indicate improvement in medical intervention. (There are other indicators as well such as RR, Sao2, chest excursion, I:E ratio and the ascultaion exam.) The peak flow as well as the SaO2 is billable. So, for acute care,the ACT does not guide intervention. There are dual meters built in one for FEV1 and peak flow.
I should have been more specific and differentiated with respect to acute care. Thanks.
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