Validation of a web‐based version of the asthma control test and childhood asthma control test

Abstract

Rationale Recent guidelines focus on adjusting asthma treatment to the level of asthma control. The availability of a web‐based asthma control questionnaire offers the possibility to assess asthma control without the need of outpatient clinic visits. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement between web‐based and paper‐based versions of the Asthma Control Test (ACT) and Childhood Asthma Control Test (C‐ACT), short‐term reproducibility and satisfaction with both versions. Methods One hundred seventy‐three children with stable asthma and a normal lung function were randomized to fill in a web‐based or paper‐based version of the C‐ACT (4–11 years) or ACT (12–18 years). According to a cross‐over design, they completed the opposite version after 1 week. Reproducibility was evaluated by repeating the 2nd version (web‐ or paper‐based) 7 days later. Results Eighty‐eight children filled in the C‐ACT, 68 children filled in the ACT. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) for web‐based versus paper‐based C‐ACT was 0.81 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.72–0.87). For ACT this was 0.84 (95% CI 0.76–0.90). For web‐based and paper‐based C‐ACT the reproducibility ICC was 0.82 (95% CI 0.67–0.90) and 0.75 (95% CI 0.59–0.85), respectively. The reproducibility ICC of the ACT for web‐ and paper‐based versions was 0.93 (95% CI 0.87–0.97) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.59–0.88), respectively. Eighty‐six percent of patients preferred the web‐based version. Conclusion The web‐based version of the C‐ACT and ACT is reproducible and comparable with the paper‐based version in assessing asthma control. Most children and their parents prefer the web‐based version. Pediatr. Pulmonol. 2011; 46:941–948.