The effective use of clinical asthma features helped researchers diagnose asthma-COPD overlap syndrome in a group of COPD patients in a recent study.
“Using simple and easy to apply clinical criteria [for] the diagnosis of this clinical phenotype is feasible,” Borja G. Cosío, MD, director of the research unit in the department of respiratory medicine at Hospital Universitario son Espases in Spain, told Healio.com/Allergy.
Cosío and colleagues assessed patients with COPD who participated in the COPD History Assessment in Spain multicenter study to determine if the use of usual clinical features for the diagnosis of asthma and COPD could identify asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS).
The analysis included 831 patients with COPD. The researchers assessed if patients fit either major criteria — bronchodilator test greater than 400 mL and 15% as well as past medical history of asthma — or minor criteria — blood eosinophils greater than 5%, immunoglobulin-E greater than 100 Ul/mL or two separate bronchodilator tests greater than 200 mL and 12% — to diagnoses ACOS.
