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Annual Congress of Malaysian Thoracic Society
OP 10
Health-Related Quality Of Life Among COPD Patients In Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center (UKMMC) Using New Assessment
Tool – COPD Assessment Test (CAT)
Hazman Jalil, Alia Suzana Asri, Huan Kai Poh, Ng Sock Wen, Ramlah Mohamad Kutty,
Roslina A Manap
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Introduction
The COPD Assessment Test is a new patient- completed instrument that has been designed to provide a
simple and reliable measure of health status in COPD patients. The questionnaire consists of eight questions
which enquire about symptoms and their impact on COPD patients.
Objective
The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess health-related quality of life amongst COPD patients in
UKMMC using the CAT.
Methodology
Consecutive stable COPD outpatients aged 18 years old and above, diagnosed for at least 6 months were
assessed during clinic visits. Validated English, Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin versions of CAT. were used.
Results
Fifty patients (39 male, 11 female) were recruited. Forty-eight percent were Malay, 40% Chinese, and 12%
Indian. Mean patient age was 69 (48 – 87) years. A majority of patients were less educated (less educated
vs educated, 58% vs 42%), had low monthly income (low vs high, 88% vs 12%) and most (64%) had a long
duration of illness (> 3 years). Seventy-six percent of the subjects were ex-smokers, 14% never smoked and
10% were current smokers. Mean FEV1 was 1.22L (0.4 to 2.4L), (n=18). There were 19 patients enrolled in
pulmonary rehabilitation.
Most (52%) patients had low scores (30) disease impact. The most common symptom was cough (92%)
followed by dyspnoea (84%), phlegm (80%), low energy (74%), limited home activities (56%), chest tightness
(54%) and sleep disturbance (54%). Nonetheless, the majority (64%) of them had confidence in leaving home
despite their lung disease. There was no significant association between age, duration of illness or smoking
status and the CAT score. Our study revealed that patients who underwent pulmonary rehabilitation had a
better quality of life than patients who were not in the programme (p=0.04, ANOVA).
Conclusion
The CAT is a patient-friendly and easy-to-use assessment tool that can be practically utilized in clinic
and research. Nonetheless, patients need encouragement and reassurance that the answers are entirely
dependent on them. Generally, the health status of UKMMC COPD patients was acceptably good. Patients
who involved in pulmonary rehabilitation reported a significantly better quality of life.
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