A push to have asthma–chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap syndrome declared a disease in its own right is gathering momentum with the release of a draft operational definition.
An article in the European Journal of Respirology details key features of asthma–chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (ACOS), which the authors said should be considered in the operational definition. These include:
- Persistent airflow limitation spirometry despite adequate administration of a short-acting bronchodilator in subjects 40 years of age or older.
- A “significant” history of cigarette smoking or an equivalent lifetime exposure to biomass.
- A physician diagnosis of asthma before 40 years of age.
Speaking to the limbic, co-author Conjoint Professor Peter Wark, a senior staff specialist in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle and a conjoint Professor with the University of Newcastle, said this issue was important, especially in the wake of an “explosion” of new medications.
“We know there is a group who have overlapping syndromes,” he said. “There is an urgent clinical need to better define what’s going on.”
He said he was concerned that patients could be over-treated or even under treated.
“There’s a bit of a desperate need to know who to treat and with what,” he said.
The lack of a clear label for the syndrome has also proved to be a disadvantage, the authors revealed.