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Test to evaluate severity of COPD exacerbations may help researchers find better treatments
Medscape Today
Scores obtained at exacerbation with the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) assessment test (CAT) are a reliable indicator of exacerbation severity and can also be used to model recovery, according to a new study.
Alexander Mackay, MBBS, clinical research fellow at the University College London Medical School, United Kingdom, and colleagues reported their findings in an article published online Jan. 27 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The CAT provides an objective quantification of the impact of symptoms that is acceptable to patients and can be easily completed at exacerbation and during recovery,” the authors note. They add that the test may be “useful in studies evaluating interventions for the management of acute exacerbations.”
Ron C. Balkissoon, MD, associate professor of medicine and pulmonologist from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Denver, noted that this test has “great potential as a clinical research tool to examine exacerbation, but I do not think currently it will be incorporated as an additional evaluative tool in routine clinical practice by most busy clinicians.” Dr. Balkissoon was not involved in the study.
