title: [Differential diagnosis of COPD from asthma].
abstract: COPD and asthma share common features such as chronic airway inflammation and remodeling and chronic airflow obstruction, while they involve numbers of differences. The differential diagnosis of these disorders is important, because they differ in preferred treatment and prognosis. It is usually easy based on the characteristic history and physiological findings, but may sometimes be difficult especially in the elderly. The precise understanding of these disorders is therefore very essential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niimi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis*