Clinical Assessment and Utility of Biomarkers in Asthma-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap

Although asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are considered as 2 distinct airway disorders, asthma-COPD overlap (ACO) includes those with features of both asthma and COPD. ACO is distinguished by having more frequent exacerbations and being associated with higher medical costs. Several objective labels or biomarkers have been identified and recommended for diagnosing and guiding the management of ACO. This article reviews the recent advances in clinical assessment of and the utility of biomarkers in ACO, as well as highlights a treatable trait approach to identify and manage these chronic airway diseases.