Experience of using omalizumab in patients with severe bronchial asthma

Abstract

Introduction. New insights into the complex pathophysiology of severe asthma (SA) have led to the development of personalized treatment strategies using genetically engineered drugs, which is based not only on disease severity, but also on specific patient characteristics and asthma endotypes.Aim. Evaluation of the effectiveness of omalizumab in patients with severe bronchial asthma (SBA).Materials and methods. A prospective observational study (12 months) with the participation of 39 patients with TB (20 women and 19 men, average age 47.7 ± 14.2 years) who were treated at the Ochapovsky Regional Clinic Hospital of Krasnodar Region. All patients included in the study were prescribed the drug omalizumab.Results. After 6 months of follow-up, there was an improvement in asthma control in the form of an increase in the average number of points according to the ACT questionnaire: 15.9 (1.19) vs 10.7 (3.19); a decrease in the proportion of patients with an ACT score of ≤ 19 points by 15.6% (from 32 patients to 27), a decrease in the proportion of patients with the result of the ACT is less than 15 points by 16%. Within 12 months from the start of treatment with omalizumab, there was a decrease in asthma exacerbations regardless of the initial level of IgE and eosinophils, a decrease in the number of days of disability by 68.9%, the number of emergency calls by 50%, outpatient visits to a pulmonologist by 65.2%, the number of hospitalizations by 63.6%, the number of days spent in hospital – by 49.2, there was a significant decrease in daily doses of IGCS, oral GCS, the total number of exacerbations, the average score on the ACT test in all patients (p = 0.01).Conclusions. Use of the drug omalizumab in patients with SBA, in combination with a different spectrum of sensitization, it was possible to bring the treatment of such patients to a qualitatively new level, providing a pronounced clinical effect by minimizing symptoms, stopping exacerbations, and improving the quality of life. It is important to have a good safety and portability profile, as well as a convenient application mode.