Assessment of Asthma Control in a Sample of Asthmatic Patientsin Taif City, Saudi Arabia

Background: asthma Control Test (ACT) Questionnaire is developed to meet the guidelines internationally accepted for asthma management by measuring adequacy and any alteration in control of asthma, occurring spontaneously or after starting asthma management. Objectives: toassess control of asthma in a sample of patients diagnosed as asthmatics in Taif City based on Asthma Control Test (ACT) Methods: fifty asthmatic patients, from those attending the out patients clinic in King Abdul Aziz Specialized hospital and chest hospital in Taif city, were included in this study in the period from July to December, 2013. Patients were subjected to: full clinical history and examination for clinical classification of the disease and to recognize controlled from uncontrolled patients; review for the treatment plan for each patient; (ACT) questionnaire was used to identify patients with poorly controlled asthma. Results: clinical classification of asthma showed that 20% of patients had intermittent asthma, 24% had mild persistent asthma, 32 % had moderately persistent asthma and 24% of patients got severe persistent asthma. According to ACT only 24% of patients were controlled, while the rest of patients 76% were considered uncontrolled. Conclusion: ACT was found to be a reliable tool for assessment of uncontrolled asthmatic patients when implemented in Taif city. Recommendations: conduct more studies in different geographical areas to assess effectiveness of the AST questionnaire in different situations and different asthmatic patients.