About the Authors

Ken Ohta

kenohta@tokyo-hosp.jp

Affiliation National Hospital Organization, Tokyo National Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

Masakazu Ichinose

Affiliation Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan

Yuji Tohda

Affiliation Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Kinki University, Faculty of Medicine, Osakasayama City, Japan

Michael Engel

Affiliation TA Respiratory Diseases, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany

Petra Moroni-Zentgraf

Affiliation TA Respiratory Diseases, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany

Satoko Kunimitsu

Affiliation Clinical Trial Management Department, Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Wataru Sakamoto

Affiliation Medical Data Services Department, Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Mitsuru Adachi

Affiliation Department of Clinical Research Center, International University of Health and Welfare, Sanno Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

Competing Interests

The authors have the following interests: this work was supported by Boehringer Ingelheim, the employer of Michael Engel and Petra Moroni-Zentgraf. Satoko Kunimitsu and Wataru Sakamoto are employed by Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Ltd. All were involved in the study design, analysis and interpretation of the manuscript. Tiotropium Respimat is a Boehringer Ingelheim product. Ken Ohta has served on advisory boards for Boehringer Ingelheim and received lecture fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, MSD, Novartis, Astellas, Kyorin and Ono. Masakazu Ichinose has served on advisory boards for Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH and received lecture fees from Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Ltd. Yuji Tohda has received lecture fees from Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Ltd, Kyorin, MSD and TEIJIN Pharma. Mitsuru Adachi has received lecture honoraria from Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Astellas, Kyorin, Torii and Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma. There are no further patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials, as detailed online in the guide for authors.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: KO ME PMZ SK WS. Performed the experiments: KO MI YT MA. Analyzed the data: KO MI YT ME PMZ SK WS MA. Wrote the paper: KO MI YT ME PMZ SK WS MA.