[Assessment of disease control among asthmatic adolescents].

Background: The clinical assessment of asthma control is fundamental to evaluate the results of treatment. The Asthma Control Test (ACT) is a questionnaire with five scored items, that differentiates between a well controlled or uncontrolled asthma. It has a Spanish version and has been applied in different countries.

Aim: To assess asthma control using the ACT and compare it with the clinical assessment of specialists in a group of pediatric patients.

Material And Methods: The ACT was applied to 220 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, 54% males, with persistent asthma, attended at a respiratory disease unit of a pediatric hospital. The concordance between ACT results and the assessment of specialists was also evaluated.

Results: According to ACT and specialists, asthma was controlled in 54% and 63% of patients, respectively. There was a weak concordance between ACT and specialists assessment (Kappa index: 0.27; 95% confidence intervals: 0.14-0.4). The degree of asthma control decreased along with increasing severity of the disease (chi2 = 10.128, p =0.001).

Conclusions: Half of the evaluated asthmatic adolescents do not have an adequate control of their disease. Severity of the disease is inversely related to the degree of control.