An updated review of the use of omalizumab for the treatment of uncontrolled pediatric allergic asthma.

Abstract

Asthma has been increasingly recognized as a heterogeneous disease; however, many patients with asthma suffer from allergic asthma. While inhaled corticosteroids and other inhalers have been integral in treating many symptoms of asthma, these medications do not completely address the underlying mechanism of the disease. Pediatric asthma imposes a substantial burden on patients and the healthcare system. Omalizumab is consistently recognized as an important consideration for add-on therapy in pediatric patients with allergic asthma in published guidelines from multiple international societies such as the Global Initiative for Asthma. Since our last report in 2017, the amount of information available regarding the safety and effectiveness of omalizumab in pediatric patients with allergic asthma has continued to accumulate and is supported by several observational and real-world data studies. A number of studies including real-world effectiveness studies, post-hoc analyses of clinical trial data, and systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses have since expanded the published data on the efficacy and safety of omalizumab in pediatric patients. In this article, we present an updated review of this literature focused on use of omalizumab therapy in children with allergic asthma.