Proactive Risk Management: A Novel Approach to Embedding Oral Corticosteroid Stewardship into Asthma Care

Abstract

The continued inclusion of oral corticosteroids (OCS) in treatment guidelines, as well as the accessibility, familiarity, and relatively low cost of this therapeutic option compared with newer alternatives, has contributed to an ongoing overreliance on OCS treatments in severe asthma. This overuse continues despite accumulating evidence to demonstrate the detrimental long-term effects associated with even a short-term, low-dose course of OCS in this patient population. OCS Stewardship is a collaborative, systematic effort designed to protect patients with asthma from inappropriate OCS use through a series of patient- and physician-focused initiatives. Ultimately, OCS Stewardship aims to reduce OCS-related morbidity, lower the risk of OCS-related adverse events (AE), increase health-related quality of life, and reduce healthcare resource utilisation. This article summarises data that were exhibited as part of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, describing a novel proactive risk-management approach to embedding OCS Stewardship into asthma care. The objectives of this meeting were to highlight the latest data demonstrating the need for OCS Stewardship in asthma; discuss approaches to assessing OCS exposure and OCS-related toxicities, and the rationale for systematic assessment of OCS toxicity in individual patients; and to consider practical tools to evaluate future risk of asthma exacerbations and OCS-related adverse effects. Also described in this article are three posters, which were presented during the same meeting, and provide further data to support OCS-sparing activities in severe asthma by AstraZeneca.