Prevalence and clinical features of asthma-COPD overlap in patients with COPD not using inhaled corticosteroids

• Published in: Allergology International 2021-01, Vol.70 (1), p.134-135
• Main Authors: Kuniaki Hiraia, Akihiko Tanakaa, Tetsuya Hommaa, Tomoko Kawaharab, Naruhito Odab, Hatsuko Mikunic, Yoshitaka Uchidac, Tomoki Unoa, Yoshito Miyataa, Hideki Inouea, Shin Ohtaa, Fumihiro Yamaguchid, Shintaro Suzukia, Hironori Sagaraa
• Format: Article
• Language: Japanese
• ISSN: 1323-8930

Dear Editor, Various studies have been conducted on severity, frequency of acute exacerbations, and the prognosis of ashtma-COPD overlap (ACO), however, it is controversial whether ACO has more clinical symptoms than COPD. In these studies, most patients with ACO had already undergone ICS treatment, which may have masked the clinical features of asthma in ACO; especially, ICS decreases the risk of exacerbations and improves asthma control and lung function in patients with asthma. The prevalence and clinical features of patients with ICS-naive ACO, i.e., patients with ACO who were unaffected by ICS have not been examined. This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study conducted between March 2019 and March 2020. We investigated the prevalence and clinical features of ACO among 197 outpatients with COPD who had been followed for at least 1 year at each hospital. Diagnoses of COPD were made according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease criteria.