الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 99 |  |  |
| | | from | 99 | | |
Abstract
Asthma COPD overlap is defined as permanent airflow limitation with many symptoms associated with asthma and many symptoms associated with COPD, according to GINA and GOLD. Because different diagnostic criteria were applied, the reported prevalence of ACO ranges from 15 to 55 % of patients with chronic airway disease. Due to a paucity of patient data, the prevalence of ACO in Egypt is difficult to determine.
Methods
A total of 150 patients from Alexandria Main University Hospital and Al Maamora Chest Hospital were included in this prospective non-interventional trial, with the inclusion criteria being that they had Asthma or COPD and were over the age of 18. Other respiratory diseases (such as interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis, obstructive sleep apnea, cardiogenic pulmonary congestion, and pneumonia) were excluded from the study.
The patients were divided into two groups depending on their previous diagnosis: group I included 75 patients were clinically diagnosed as having asthma according to GINA guidelines1 and group II had 75 patients were clinically diagnosed as having COPD according to GOLD standards.