United airway: upper and lower respiratory symptoms of COPD patients

Abstract

Rationale: Upper and lower airways are considered a unified functional unit in the field of bronchial asthma. Presence of upper and lower respiratory symptoms in a cohort of COPD patients is discussed. Methods: The presence of upper (SNOT-22 questionnaire), and lower (mMRC scale, CAT questionnaire) respiratory symptoms were assessed in a group of non-mild COPD subjects from Czech Multicentre Research Database of COPD over the course of three years. Patients were stratified according to the GOLD guidelines, predefined clinical phenotypes (one patient = one phenotype), and basic treatable traits (one or more for each patient). Results: 614 COPD individuals (66.3yrs;73%males;post-BDFEV144.7%;RV/TLC182%;TLco53%) were enrolled. Of these 432, 345, and 216 were eligible for one, two, and three-yrs follow-up. Baseline total CAT score (15.7) correlated (Figure 1) with SNOT-22 (17). The same correlation was apparent in all eight CAT-items and SNOT-22. The total CAT scores positively correlated with SNOT-22 over all three yrs (p Conclusion: Upper respiratory symptoms and lower respiratory symptoms in non-mild COPD individuals correlated in cross-sectional and prospective analyses. Some of the treatable traits, and GOLD categories were related with more pronounced upper respiratory symptoms.