Feasibility of the Munich Asthma Questionnaire to assess symptom control in asthma patients of primary care

Introduction: The assessment of asthma symptom control is essential as poor symptom control is strongly associated with an increased risk of asthma exacerbations. We developed an asthma symptom control questionnaire, “Munich Asthma Questionnaire (MAQ)”, which, in contrast to existing asthma control questionnaires, includes the classification of the domain asthma symptom control according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). The aim was to evaluate the feasibility, factor structure and internal consistency of the MAQ in asthma patients of primary care. Method: The MAQ was developed by a general practitioner and three pneumologists considering guidelines and literature. It captures asthma symptoms, daily activity, and usage of reliever sprays within the past four weeks. Cut-offs are chosen according to the international asthma guideline GINA to identify patients with well controlled, partly controlled and uncontrolled asthma. Items will be summed up including a total sum core of 24. The questionnaire was administered as part of a single-arm pilot study investigating the feasibility of a newly developed electronic asthma education program. The MAQ was used to assess asthma symptom control at baseline, after 3 and 6 months. Results: 72 patients with asthma were included in the study. Data of the MAQ was available for 68, 56 and 43 patients at baseline, 3- and 6-month follow-up, respectively. According to the MAQ, 21 patients (29%) were well controlled, 32 (44%) partly controlled, and 19 (26%) suffered from uncontrolled asthma at baseline. The mean sum score of the MAQ was 9.54±7.22 at baseline and decreased to 8.16±6.10 and 5.79±5.34 at 3- and 6-month follow-up, respectively. Cronbach’s alpha for the 8 items was 0.87. Discussion: The MAQ was well accepted by primary care patients and was sensitive to change. It allows to quantify symptom severity and classification according to GINA. Further studies are required to validate the questionnaire.