Similarities and discrepancies between exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

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Abstract
Recent guidelines provide classifications of exacerbations of asthma and COPD based on clinical parameters.1-4 6Although these classifications may provide a useful tool for clinical studies, they are not standardised and they are rather cumbersome and difficult to use in clinical practice. The definitions derived from the literature are operational and vary with investigators.7-14 In this article we will try to provide some definitions to be subsequently used to discuss the pathogenesis and treatment of the two diseases.