The Royal College of Physicians three questions (RCP3Q) is widely used for assessing asthma control within primary care in the UK, despite limited evidence in children. This study compared the RCP3Q as a tool for assessing asthma control in children (5–16 years) against the validated Asthma Control Test (ACT), Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT), and Mini-Paediatric Quality of Life Questionnaire (MiniPAQLQ). We conducted a prospective observational cohort study involving children from eight primary care practices in Leicestershire. Children with doctor diagnosed asthma, or receiving regular asthma medication, were invited to participate. A total of 319 participants completed the MiniPAQLQ and the C-ACT/ACT questionnaires, before RCP3Q responses were collected as part of their routine asthma review conducted immediately afterwards. RCP3Q sensitivity for detecting uncontrolled asthma ranged from 43–60% and specificity from 80–82%. Using an RCP3Q score ≥2 to predict uncontrolled asthma and an RCP3Q score of zero to predict well-controlled asthma resulted in 10% of participants misclassified as uncontrolled and 8% as well-controlled, respectively. Using an RCP3Q threshold score of ≥1 resulted in 25% of participants being misclassified as uncontrolled. Our data suggests limited utility of the RCP3Q to assess asthma control in children. Alternative indicators of asthma control, such as the validated Asthma Control Test and the Children’s Asthma Control Test should be considered instead.

尽管儿童的证据有限，但英国皇家内科医师学院的三个问题（RCP3Q）在英国的初级保健中被广泛用于评估哮喘控制。这项研究将RCP3Q作为评估儿童（5至16岁）哮喘控制的工具与经过验证的哮喘控制测试（ACT），儿童哮喘控制测试（C-ACT）和小儿科生活质量问卷（MiniPAQLQ）进行了比较）。我们进行了一项前瞻性观察队列研究，研究对象来自莱斯特郡的八家初级保健机构的儿童。邀请有医生诊断为哮喘或接受常规哮喘药物治疗的儿童参加。总共319名参与者完成了MiniPAQLQ和C-ACT / ACT问卷，然后才收集RCP3Q应答作为其随后立即进行的常规哮喘检查的一部分。RCP3Q检测不受控制的哮喘的敏感性范围为43-60％，特异性为80-82％。使用RCP3Q得分≥2来预测哮喘不受控制，使用RCP3Q得分零来预测哮喘得到良好控制，分别导致10％的参与者被误认为是不受控制的哮喘，而8％的患者则被归为不受控制的哮喘。使用RCP3Q阈值得分≥1会导致25％的参与者被错误分类为不受控制。我们的数据表明，RCP3Q评估儿童哮喘控制的效用有限。应该考虑使用其他哮喘控制指标，例如经过验证的哮喘控制测试和儿童哮喘控制测试。使用RCP3Q分数≥2来预测哮喘不受控制，使用RCP3Q得分零来预测哮喘得到良好控制，分别导致10％的参与者被误认为是不受控制的哮喘，而8％的参与者则被分为良好控制的哮喘。使用RCP3Q阈值得分≥1会导致25％的参与者被错误分类为不受控制。我们的数据表明，RCP3Q评估儿童哮喘控制的效用有限。应该考虑使用其他哮喘控制指标，例如经过验证的哮喘控制测试和儿童哮喘控制测试。使用RCP3Q得分≥2来预测哮喘不受控制，使用RCP3Q得分零来预测哮喘得到良好控制，分别导致10％的参与者被误认为是不受控制的哮喘，而8％的患者则被归为不受控制的哮喘。使用RCP3Q阈值得分≥1会导致25％的参与者被错误分类为不受控制。我们的数据表明，RCP3Q评估儿童哮喘控制的效用有限。应该考虑使用其他哮喘控制指标，例如经过验证的哮喘控制测试和儿童哮喘控制测试。