- 期刊
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test (CAT) Correlated Well with Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Scale
慢性阻塞性肺病評估問卷（CAT）與修改版醫學研究委員會（mMRC）呼吸困難程度計分有良好相關性
摘要
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is among the leading causes of disability. The COPD Assessment Test (CAT) has been advocated recently as a good health status measurement tool for COPD patients in daily practice. Both the CAT and the Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Scale were recommended for the assessment of COPD symptoms in the 2011 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) report. However, little evidence to date has shown a correlation between these 2 measurements.Methods: Patients more than 40 years of age, with a diagnosis of COPD and a smoking history of more than 10 pack years were prospectively enrolled from the chest clinic of a medical center in Taiwan. The CAT score and mMRC grades were recorded on the first visit and then every 8 weeks for 6 months. Spearman's correlation coefficients (ρ) between the CAT scores and mMRC grades recorded on the same visit were calculated.Results: In total, 36 patients with COPD were enrolled in this study. Five patients were excluded due to early withdrawal, and the data of the remaining 31 patients were analyzed. The CAT score trended toward a weak correlation with the mMRC grade on the first visit, but was highly correlated with the mMRC grade on the next 3 visits (weeks 8, 16, and 24) (ρ＞0.7; p＜0.05). The correlation was better in patients with a more severe airflow limitation (GOLD class 3 and 4). In most cases (83%), the CAT score and mMRC grade indicated the same level of symptoms, as defined in the 2011 GOLD report.Conclusions: Although the small sample size may have impacted the results, we found that the CAT score had a good correlation with the mMRC grade, especially in patients with a more severe airflow limitation and on follow-up visits. Therefore, as a simple tool, the mMRC scale may be used as a substitute for the CAT in busy clinics in Taiwan. This pilot study may provide preliminary evidence to support the clinical application of the CAT or mMRC scale per the 2011 GOLD report in Taiwan. Further studies are needed to clarify the application of the CAT in a clinical setting in Taiwan.
並列摘要
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is among the leading causes of disability. The COPD Assessment Test (CAT) has been advocated recently as a good health status measurement tool for COPD patients in daily practice. Both the CAT and the Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Scale were recommended for the assessment of COPD symptoms in the 2011 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) report. However, little evidence to date has shown a correlation between these 2 measurements.Methods: Patients more than 40 years of age, with a diagnosis of COPD and a smoking history of more than 10 pack years were prospectively enrolled from the chest clinic of a medical center in Taiwan. The CAT score and mMRC grades were recorded on the first visit and then every 8 weeks for 6 months. Spearman's correlation coefficients (ρ) between the CAT scores and mMRC grades recorded on the same visit were calculated.Results: In total, 36 patients with COPD were enrolled in this study. Five patients were excluded due to early withdrawal, and the data of the remaining 31 patients were analyzed. The CAT score trended toward a weak correlation with the mMRC grade on the first visit, but was highly correlated with the mMRC grade on the next 3 visits (weeks 8, 16, and 24) (ρ＞0.7; p＜0.05). The correlation was better in patients with a more severe airflow limitation (GOLD class 3 and 4). In most cases (83%), the CAT score and mMRC grade indicated the same level of symptoms, as defined in the 2011 GOLD report.Conclusions: Although the small sample size may have impacted the results, we found that the CAT score had a good correlation with the mMRC grade, especially in patients with a more severe airflow limitation and on follow-up visits. Therefore, as a simple tool, the mMRC scale may be used as a substitute for the CAT in busy clinics in Taiwan. This pilot study may provide preliminary evidence to support the clinical application of the CAT or mMRC scale per the 2011 GOLD report in Taiwan. Further studies are needed to clarify the application of the CAT in a clinical setting in Taiwan.