Asthma – COPD Overlap Syndrome | A merger of 2 distinct spectrums of inflammatory airway diseases

Asthma – COPD Overlap Syndrome | A merger of 2 distinct spectrums of inflammatory airway diseases – MM1609

Most practising doctors are familiar with the diseases of Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Within the cohort of these two disease entities, there are patients that do not completely satisfy the criteria to be diagnosed convincingly as either asthma or COPD. While the semantics of these diseases are far more important for research purposes than the diagnostic dilemma they pose, there have been several advances in both asthma and COPD that make the distinction or recognition of an asthma COPD Overlap Syndrome (ACOS) as a clinical entity more pertinent.

Modern Medicine – September 2016