BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Overlap syndrome shares features of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this study was to investigate characteristics of overlap syndrome and their effect on self-rated health (SRH). METHODS We analyzed data from the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2007-2009. Subjects with acceptable spirometry and ...

Most research of treatments for airways diseases has been restricted to patients who meet standard definitions of either chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma, yet to distinguish COPD from asthma in adult patients who have clinical features of both can be challenging. Treatment guidelines provide scant advice on how such patients should be managed. With increasing recognition t...

BACKGROUND Patients with symptoms of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be classified with the term asthma-COPD overlap (ACO). ACO is of considerable interest as it is currently poorly characterised and has been associated with worse health outcomes and higher healthcare costs compared with COPD or asthma alone. Patients with ACO in Asia remain poorly described, an...

BACKGROUND Asthma and COPD are obstructive airway diseases related to chronic airway inflammation. However, it is known that in real practice the 2 diseases overlap. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate the reality of an intermediate type between asthma and COPD, when diagnosed by physicians in Korea. METHODS The study involved 633 Korean patients with asthma, 157 with CO...

Despite the availability of guideline recommendations, diagnostic confusion between COPD and asthma appears common, and often it is very difficult to decide whether the obstruction is caused by asthma or COPD in a patient with airway obstruction. However, there are well-defined features that help in differentiating asthma from COPD in the presence of fixed airflow obstruction. Nonetheless, the ...

BACKGROUND The diagnostic criteria of asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS) are controversial. Emphysema is characteristic of COPD and usually does not exist in typical asthma patients. Emphysema in patients with asthma suggests the coexistence of COPD. Quantitative computed tomography (CT) allows repeated evaluation of emphysema noninvasively. We investigated the value of quantitative CT measure...