The Physiology of Asthma-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap

David A Kaminsky; Charles G Irvin

doi:10.1016/j.iac.2022.04.001

The Physiology of Asthma-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap

Immunol Allergy Clin North Am. 2022 Aug;42(3):575-589. doi: 10.1016/j.iac.2022.04.001. Epub 2022 Jun 30.

Authors

David A Kaminsky¹, Charles G Irvin²

Affiliations

¹ Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Given D213, 89 Beaumont Avenue, Burlington, VT 05405, USA. Electronic address: David.kaminsky@med.uvm.edu.
² Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, HSRF 226, 149 Beaumont Avenue, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.

PMID: 35965046
DOI: 10.1016/j.iac.2022.04.001

Abstract

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are both characterized by airway obstruction and share similar clinical manifestations. However, they differ in many respects related to underlying cause, mechanism of airway obstruction, pattern and progression of symptoms, and response to therapy. It remains unclear whether there is a unique physiologic phenotype that characterizes asthma-COPD overlap (ACO). This review describes the common and distinct physiologic tests that help define asthma and COPD and potentially how they may contribute to understanding the underlying physiology of ACO.

Keywords: Asthma; Asthma-COPD overlap; COPD; Physiology; Pulmonary function tests.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Airway Obstruction*
Asthma* / drug therapy
Asthma* / therapy
Humans
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / diagnosis