Reply: Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

摘要

We thank Dr. Sankari and colleagues for the interest in our manuscript. We fully support the need for mechanistic research regarding the interactions between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Reports suggesting that expiratory flow limitation is common in the sleep-disordered breathing population need further investigation. The relevance of identifying individuals with COPD and concomitant OSA is predicated on increased mortality and morbidity if proper treatment is not initiated (1, 2).