Properties of the COPD assessment test in a cross-sectional European study

A short, easy-to-use health status questionnaire is needed in the multidimensional assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in routine practice.The performance of the eight-item COPD assessment test (CAT) was analysed in 1,817 patients from primary care in seven European countries. The CAT has a scoring range of 0-40 (high score representing poor health status).Mean CAT scores indicated significant health status impairment that was related to severity of airway obstruction, but within each Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease stage (I to IV) there was a wide range of scores (I: 16.2 +/- 8.8; II: 16.3 +/- 7.9; III: 19.3 +/- 8.2; and IV: 22.3 +/- 8.7; I versus II, p=0.88; II versus III, pThe CAT is a simple and easy-to-use questionnaire that distinguishes between patients of different degrees of COPD severity and appears to behave the same way across countries.