Evaluation of the efficacy of Omalizumab as re-treatment in patients with severe asthma

Abstract

Objective

Omalizumab is an anti-IgE monoclonal antibody used to treat severe allergic asthma. In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of omalizumab re-treatment in patients who discontinued omalizumab treatment for any reason.

Methods

Patients who received omalizumab treatment for at least two years, whose treatment was shown to be successful, and who received omalizumab for at least one year in retreatment were included in the study. Asthma treatment, pulmonary function tests, asthma control test scores, and the number of asthma attacks, asthma attacks requiring systemic corticosteroid use, asthma attacks requiring systemic corticosteroid use, systemic corticosteroid treatment, unplanned physician visits, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations in a year were recorded both before and after first treatment and before and after re-treatment.

Results

A total of 36 patients with severe persistent asthma were included. The mean time to restart treatment was 16.5 ± 10.1 months. After re-treatment, the asthma control test score and the number of asthma attacks, asthma attacks requiring systemic corticosteroid use, systemic corticosteroid treatment, unplanned doctor visits, emergency department visits and hospitalizations in one year were statistically significantly reduced. In terms of side effects, no serious side effects were observed in any patient and side effects were like those of the first treatment.

Conclusions

In our study, omalizumab was found to be as effective and safe as the first treatment in patients who had previously received and discontinued omalizumab treatment and in whom treatment was restarted due to deterioration in asthma control.