Month: October 2011

Madrid, October 2011.- Stands for pulmonologists and primary care physicians a tool to facilitate and improve the evaluation of patients with pulmonary disease (COPD) chronic obstructive. The experts consider this the COPD assessment questionnaire, called CAT (COPD Assessment Test), an important step to facilitate the daily clinical management of patients with this disease.

CAT has been developed to measure the impact of COPD in the quality of life of the patient, allowing you to describe your symptoms more accurately. This, in turn, improves communication with the doctor and gives you a better understanding of the real impact of the disease, allowing more personalized treatment, as well as the optimization of care to the patient.

COPD limits air flow into the lungs and causes respiratory difficulties that affect the health, quality of life and, ultimately, the survival of patients. More than one and a half million people have the disease in Spain. However, due in part to the difficulties to describe and evaluate their impact, their treatment may be suboptimal and cause patients to submit an increase in symptoms, risk of hospitalization and disability.

Experts agree to explain that traditional methods for measuring the severity of COPD do not adequately reflect the variety of effects that the disease can cause in the patient’s symptoms, their daily activities and their well-being. As COPD worsens over time, the doctors may find difficult to accurately assess their effects in patients. They become accustomed to the symptoms, and therefore tend to underestimate its intensity when asked, the doctor picks up a partial information of the disease, and as a result, we are not currently achieving levels of therapeutic success would be possible.

Dr. Germán fish beard of the Pneumology Service of the Fundación Jiménez Díaz, explained: “ public and available to all physicians use here, CAT is being used in observational studies of patient monitoring research groups, but ideally add it as a clinical tool for daily use ”.

Dr. fish beard adds, “ although there are other tests that assess COPD, so far there was nothing that had applicability in daily practice. There are other questionnaires lengthy and practical, impossible to be used routinely. CAT offers valid and equivalent results of the evolution of the disease with the added advantage of the ease of use and the good response of the patient ”.

Dr. José Luis Martínez Carrasco, Center Health Fuencarral and member of the team of validation of the questionnaire in Spain, trusted in “ implements massively ” and noted its usefulness in primary care, “ simple and easy to answer for the patient’s own, with only 8 items, CAT allows us to objectively quantify the quality of life. It is very useful because it allows a simple, fast and reliable measurement of an illness with many subjective aspects ”.

Dr. Martinez Carrasco explained: “ CAT is being used much in respiratory rehabilitation programmes. Care first helps us to evaluate the quality of life of the patient, the progress of the treatment, exacerbations; to detect cases of bad developments also is useful in early diagnosis. In patients who have signs of COPD makes a pre-selection to make specific diagnostic tests ”

the points that make up the CAT questionnaire, designed to be completed directly by patients, were identified after many interviews with patients, combined with rigorous scientific methodology. A wide selection of international experts on COPD, patient groups and professional societies also played a key role in its development.

Dr. José Miguel Rodríguez González-Moro, of the service Pneumology Hospital Gregorio Marañón in Madrid and President of Neumomadrid, points out that “ COPD may cause a devastating effect on patients suffering from the symptoms as a heavy burden which affects their daily activities. With proper treatment, these symptoms could be reduced, but doctors need to have a clear vision of what the patient is experiencing and that is what gives CAT. We hope that this progress in the treatment of COPD will ultimately improve the lives of patients and helps to optimize their State of health and welfare everything ”.

COPD Assessment tests (CAT)

CAT is a test of standardised, brief and simple assessment that can be completed quickly by patients and used in the routine practice along with other lung function tests. The questionnaire, divided into eight points, covers cough, phlegm, tightness of chest, shortness of breath (lack the breath), limitation of activity, confidence, dream, and energy. CAT offers an overview of the impact of COPD in each patient and allows doctors and patients to maintain a conversation structured on COPDthat will help improve the understanding of the overall impact of the disease, resulting in better management and, ultimately, in better results.

CAT was developed by a multidisciplinary group of international experts with knowledge in the development of tools and patient-reported outcomes questionnaires. The group included pulmonologists, primary care doctors and representatives of patient organisations. The information provided by patients with COPD was an essential part for the development and validation of the tool.

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