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    Patent Pending

    COPD Assessment Test (CAT)

    Quantifies impact of COPD symptoms on patients' overall health.
    When to Use
    Pearls/Pitfalls
    Why Use

    Use in patients diagnosed with COPD, to assess progression of lung disease, decline in functional status, and gauge effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation.

    • Developed to address COPD burden in daily life, not to diagnose COPD.

    • CAT scores have been shown to correlate with mortality (Husebø 2016) as well as patient-reported symptom improvement (Dodd 2011).

    • Provides a validated and universally agreed-upon framework for quantifying symptom burden and risk for exacerbation (along with spirometry), which can be used to guide therapy.

    • Recommended by GOLD Guidelines 2022 (along with the mMRC Dyspnea Scale) for evaluation of all patients with COPD.

    • Quicker and more practical to complete than other questionnaire-based assessments such as St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire or Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire.

    0 (“I never cough”)
    0
    1
    +1
    2
    +2
    3
    +3
    4
    +4
    5 (“I cough all the time”)
    +5
    0 (“I have no phlegm in my chest at all”)
    0
    1
    +1
    2
    +2
    3
    +3
    4
    +4
    5 (“My chest is completely full of phlegm”)
    +5
    0 (“My chest does not feel tight at all”)
    0
    1
    +1
    2
    +2
    3
    +3
    4
    +4
    5 (“My chest feels very tight”)
    +5
    0 (“When I walk up a hill or one flight of stairs I am not breathless”)
    0
    1
    +1
    2
    +2
    3
    +3
    4
    +4
    5 (“When I walk up a hill or one flight of stairs I am very breathless”)
    +5
    0 (“I am not limited doing any activities at home”)
    0
    1
    +1
    2
    +2
    3
    +3
    4
    +4
    5 (“I am very limited doing any activities at home”)
    +5
    0 (“I am confident leaving my home despite my lung condition”)
    0
    1
    +1
    2
    +2
    3
    +3
    4
    +4
    5 (“I am not at all confident leaving my home because of my lung condition”)
    +5
    0 (“I sleep soundly”)
    0
    1
    +1
    2
    +2
    3
    +3
    4
    +4
    5 (“I don’t sleep soundly because of my lung condition”)
    +5
    0 (“I have lots of energy”)
    0
    1
    +1
    2
    +2
    3
    +3
    4
    +4
    5 (“I have no energy at all”)
    +5

    Result:

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    Next Steps
    Evidence
    Creator Insights
    Dr. Paul W. Jones

    About the Creator

    Paul W. Jones, MD, PhD, is the global medical expert for the respiratory franchise at GSK. He was previously a professor of respiratory medicine and a consultant physician at St George's, University of London in London, UK. Dr. Jones’ primary research is focused on symptom measurement and cognitive outcome of COPD.

    To view Dr. Paul W. Jones's publications, visit PubMed

    Are you Dr. Paul W. Jones? Send us a message to review your photo and bio, and find out how to submit Creator Insights!
    MDCalc loves calculator creators – researchers who, through intelligent and often complex methods, discover tools that describe scientific facts that can then be applied in practice. These are real scientific discoveries about the nature of the human body, which can be invaluable to physicians taking care of patients.
    Content Contributors
    • Sachin Patel, MD
    About the Creator
    Dr. Paul W. Jones
    Are you Dr. Paul W. Jones?
    Content Contributors
    • Sachin Patel, MD