Objective: Every year, millions of Muslims from around the world gather in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. Before leaving for pilgrimage, Indonesian pilgrims go through various health examinations in Regional Primary Health Center (Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat/ Puskesmas). Since there was no existing research on Asthma Control Test (ACT) assessment for pilgrims with bronchial asthma to predict asthma exacerbations during Hajj pilgrimage period, this cohort study was conducted to fill this gap.Methods: Pilgrims who suffered from asthma were recruited in Daerah Khusus Ibukota (DKI) Jakarta Province region in 2018. The degree classification of asthma in the ACT group was determined as uncontrolled, partially controlled, and fully controlled. ACT scores were calculated in Puskesmas and embarkation. Observation of asthma exacerbations in pilgrims while performing Hajj was performed by doctors. Data were analyzed with SPSS for Windows.Results: A total of 68 participants were included (46 female [67.6%]; 45 aged <60 years [66.2%]). At embarkation, the asthma classification based on the ACT was as follows: 36 (52.9%) and 13 (19.1%) pilgrims had partially controlled and uncontrolled asthma, and 17 (47.2%) and 8 (61.5%) of each group experienced exacerbation, respectively, with p = 0.006 for the ACT values at embarkation. The area under the curve value was 0.717 (95% CI; 0.596-0.838).Conclusion: There was increased asthma exacerbation incidence in the uncontrolled and partially controlled ACT groups at embarkation compared to the fully controlled ACT group. The ACT score was able to predict the occurrence of acute asthma exacerbation during Hajj period.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Vol. 04 No. 02 April’20 Page : 128-135
Asthma Control Test Composite Score May Not be Superior to Assessments of Rescue Inhaler Use for Predicting Severe Asthma Exacerbations
