Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome-Coexistence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma in elderly patients and parameters for their differentiation

Yoshihiro Tochino; Kazuhisa Asai; Taichi Shuto; Kazuto Hirata

doi:10.1002/jgf2.2

Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome-Coexistence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma in elderly patients and parameters for their differentiation

J Gen Fam Med. 2017 Mar 24;18(1):5-11. doi: 10.1002/jgf2.2. eCollection 2017 Mar.

Authors

Yoshihiro Tochino^{1

2}, Kazuhisa Asai¹, Taichi Shuto², Kazuto Hirata¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine Graduate School of Medicine Osaka City University Osaka Japan.
² Department of Medical Education and General Practice Graduate School of Medicine Osaka City University Osaka Japan.

PMID: 29263981
PMCID: PMC5675141
DOI: 10.1002/jgf2.2

Abstract

Japan is an aging society, and the number of elderly patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is consequently increasing, with an estimated incidence of approximately 5 million. In 2014, asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS) was defined by a joint project of Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) committee and the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) committee. The main aims of this consensus-based document are to assist clinicians, especially those in primary care or nonpulmonary specialties. In this article, we discussed parameters to differentiate asthma and COPD in elderly patients and showed prevalence, clinical features and treatment of ACOS on the basis of the guidelines of GINA and GOLD. Furthermore, we showed also referral for specialized investigations.

Keywords: asthma; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; smoking.

Publication types

Review