Tuberc Respir Dis.  2011 Oct;71(4):271-277.

The Usefulness of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test

• Kim YE
• Lee SS
• Kim CY
• Lee SH
• Lim SJ
• Cho YJ
• Jeong YY
• Kim HC
• Hwang YS
• Lee JD

Abstract

BACKGROUND
A chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) assessment test (CAT) has recently been developed as a short and simple method for assessing the quality of life in COPD patients. The object of this study was to assess the usefulness of the Korean version of the CAT for assessing COPD patients in an outpatient clinic.
METHODS
The study included 60 COPD patients in a stable state from an outpatient clinic. The authors investigated the frequency of acute exacerbation during aprevious year through reviewing medical records. We evaluated the spirometry test, a 6-min walk distance test, and obtained the MMRC dyspnea scale, the Korean version of the CAT, and the BODE index at the time of visit. To assess the usefulness of the CAT, correlations between the CAT and other methods were evaluated.
RESULTS
The mean age of patients was 68.3+/-8.6 years and 95% of patients were male. There was a significant correlation between the CAT score and FEV1% (r=-0.323, p=0.012), the frequency of acute exacerbation (r=0.292, p=0.024), the MMRC dyspnea scale (r=0.554, p<0.001), the BODE index (r=0.380, p=0.003), and 6 MWD (r=-0.372, p=0.004). The mean CAT score increased according to the GOLD stage (stage 1, 10.7+/-4.5; stage 2, 13.1+/-7.9; stage 3, 16.3+/-6.2; stage 4, 16.5+/-14.8; p=0.746).
CONCLUSION
The CAT was shown to be useful for the assessment of COPD severity. Therefore, the CAT is an easily applied and simple method for assessing COPD severity in an outpatient clinic.

Keyword

Body Mass Index; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Disease Progression; Quality of Life

MeSH Terms

Ambulatory Care Facilities
Animals
Body Mass Index
Cats
Disease Progression
Dyspnea
Humans
Male
Medical Records
Outpatients
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
Quality of Life
Spirometry

Figure

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  Figure 1 Correlation between COPD assessment test (CAT) and FEV1 (% predicted) (r=-0.323, p=0.012). COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in one second.

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  Figure 2 Correlation between COPD assessment test (CAT) and frequency of acute exacerbation (r=0.292, p=0.024). COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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  Figure 3 Correlation between COPD assessment test (CAT) and MMRC dyspnea scale (r=0.554, p<0.001). COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; MMRC: modified medical research council dyspnea scale.

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  Figure 4 Correlation between COPD assessment test (CAT) and 6 MWD (m) (r=-0.372, p=0.004). COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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  Figure 5 Correlation between COPD assessment test (CAT) and BODE index (r=0.380, p=0.003). COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; BODE: body mass index, degree of obstruction, dyspnea, exercise capacity.

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