Asthma Control Test Guided Treatment in Chinese Subjects

ACT is a self-administered questionnaire comprising five items that were assessed on a five point categorical scale (1 to 5) and the scores are summed to give a total score ranging from 5 to 25, with a score of >=20 denoting 'well-controlled asthma', a score of 16-19 denoting 'not well-controlled asthma', and a score of <=15 denoting 'very poorly controlled asthma'. The total score was calculated as the sum of the scores from all 5 questions. Higher scores indicates improved asthma control. The recall period of the questionnaire was four weeks.

Participants recorded daytime asthma symptom scores in the daily record card (DRC). Any asthma-related symptoms, such as wheeze, shortness of breath, cough or chest tightness experienced during the previous 12 hours were rated as: 0= no symptoms during the day, 1= symptoms for one short period during the day, 2= symptoms for two or more short periods during the day, 3= symptoms for most of the day which did not affect daily activities, 4= symptoms for most of the day which did affect normal daily activities, 5= symptoms so severe that participant could not go to work or perform normal daily activities. Daytime symptom score was calculated by taking average of scores for all questions. The mean daytime asthma symptom score was calculated for each participant during the 4-weekly interval (Weeks 1-4, Weeks 5-8, Weeks 9-12, Weeks 13-16, Weeks 17-20 and Weeks 21-24) by taking average of 4 weeks. Score ranged from 0-5, higher scores indicates severe symptoms.

Participants recorded night-time asthma symptom scores in the DRC. Any asthma-related symptoms, such as wheeze, shortness of breath, cough or chest tightness experienced during the previous 12 hours were rated as: 0= no symptoms during the night, 1= symptoms causing to wake once or wake early, 2= symptoms causing to wake twice or more (including waking early), 3= symptoms causing to be awake for most of the night, 4= symptoms so severe that participant did not sleep at all. Night-time symptom score was calculated by taking average of scores for all questions. The mean nighttime asthma symptom score was calculated for each participant during the 4 weekly interval (Weeks 1-4; Weeks 5-8, Weeks 9-12, Weeks 13-16, Weeks 17-20 and Weeks 21-24) by taking average of 4 weeks. Score ranged from 0-5, higher scores indicates severe symptoms.

FEV1 is defined as the maximal amount of air that can be forcefully exhaled in one second. FEV1 was measured by spirometry. Baseline was defined as value at Day 1. Change from Baseline was calculated by subtracting Baseline value from the specified time point value.

PEF is defined as the maximum airflow during a forced expiration beginning with the lungs fully inflated. Participants were provided with a Mini-Wright Peak Flow Meter and were taught how to measure and record their PEF. Participants recorded on DRC the best of three PEF measurements, using a Mini-Wright peak flow meter in the morning (7:00 to 10:00 AM) before taking any asthma drug. Mean AM PEF was calculated for each participant during the 4-weekly interval (Weeks 1-4; Weeks 5-8, Weeks 9-12, Weeks 13-16, Weeks 17-20 and Weeks 21-24) by taking average of 4 weeks.

PEF is defined as the maximum airflow during a forced expiration beginning with the lungs fully inflated. Participants were provided with a Mini-Wright Peak Flow Meter and were taught how to measure and record their PEF. Participants recorded on DRC the best of three PEF measurements, using a Mini-Wright peak flow meter in the evening (6:00 to 9:00 PM) before taking any asthma drug. Mean PM PEF was calculated for each participant during the 4-weekly interval (Weeks 1-4; Weeks 5-8, Weeks 9-12, Weeks 13-16, Weeks 17-20 and Weeks 21-24) by taking average of 4 weeks.

The AQLQ(S) contains 32 items in four domains: activity limitation (11 items), symptoms (12 items), emotional function (5 items) and environmental stimuli (4 items). Participant's response to each question was rated on a seven-point scale (1 to 7) where a value of 1 indicates "total impairment" and a value of 7 indicates "no impairment". The total AQLQ(S) score is calculated as the mean of all 32 items in the questionnaire. Hence, the total AQLQ(S) score ranged from 1 to 7 with higher scores indicating a higher quality of life. A change in score of greater than 0.5 can be considered clinically important. Baseline was defined as value at Day 1. Change from Baseline was calculated by subtracting Baseline value from the specified time point value.

ACT is a self-administered questionnaire comprising five items that were assessed on a five point categorical scale (1 to 5) and the scores are summed to give a total score ranging from 5 to 25, with a score of >=20 denoting 'well-controlled asthma', a score of 16-19 denoting 'not well-controlled asthma', and a score of <=15 denoting 'very poorly controlled asthma'. Higher scores indicates improved asthma control. The recall period of the questionnaire was four weeks. Median and inter-quartile range (first and third quartiles) are presented for time to first ACT score >=20 or improvement of more than 3 points in ACT over the 24-week treatment period.

Exacerbations were assessed by the physician at each scheduled visit by reviewing the DRC, as well as specific questioning on adverse events. A moderate asthma exacerbation was defined as a deterioration in asthma requiring treatment with an oral corticosteroid. Individual courses of oral corticosteroids were classified as separate exacerbations only if they were administered more than 1 week apart. Any course started within one week of finishing the previous course was considered part of the previous exacerbation. A severe asthma exacerbation was defined as a deterioration in asthma which requires hospital admission. Annualized Rate of moderate to severe asthma exacerbation during 24-week treatment period is presented.