In the past 4 weeks, how much of the time did your asthma keep you from getting as much done at work, school, or at home?
During the past 4 weeks, how often have you had shortness of breath?
During the past 4 weeks, how often did your asthma symptoms (wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, chest tightness or pain) wake you up at night or earlier than usual in the morning?
During the past 4 weeks, how often have you used your rescue inhaler or nebulizer medication (such as Albuterol, Ventolin®, Proventil®, Maxair® or Primatene Mist®)?
How would you rate your asthma control during the past 4 weeks?
0 of 5 answered.
19 is not a fixed threshold. The guide calls it the most favourable all-round cut-off, then says plainly that users are encouraged to pick the cut-point that suits their setting, and tabulates sensitivity and specificity for the others. A calculator has to choose one number; the instrument does not.
The brand names in question 4 are American. Albuterol is salbutamol, and Ventolin is the name a patient here will recognise. The wording is left exactly as validated rather than localised, since changing items in a validated instrument invalidates the score it produces.
This is the adult and adolescent version, for ages 12 and over. The Childhood ACT for ages 4 to 11 is a separate instrument with different items, a different scoring scheme and its own cut-point. Scores from the two are not interchangeable.
It asks about the past four weeks only, and it measures symptom control — not severity, not lung function, and not future risk of exacerbation. A good score does not mean treatment can be stepped down on its own.
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