Various studies have assessed omalizumab outcomes in the clinical practice setting but follow-up and/or number of patients included were limited. We aim to describe the long-term outcomes of pediatric patients with severe persistent allergic asthma receiving omalizumab in the largest real-life cohort reported to date.
ANCHORS was a multicenter, observational, retrospective cohort study conducted in 25 Pediatric Allergy and Pulmonology units in Spain. We collected data of patients <18 years and initiating omalizumab between 2006-2018, from the year prior to omalizumab initiation to discontinuation or last available follow-up. The primary outcome was the evolution of the annual number of moderate-to-severe exacerbations compared to the baseline period.
Of the 484 patients included, 101 (20.9%) reached six years of treatment. The mean±standard deviation number of exacerbations decreased during the first year of treatment (7.9±6.6 to 1.1±2.0, p<0.001) and remained likewise for up to six years. The other clinical parameters assessed also improved significantly during the first year and stabilized or continued to improve thereafter. The percentage of patients experiencing adverse events was consistently low, and the main reason for discontinuation was good disease evolution.
In this large, long-term, observational study, moderate-to-severe exacerbations decreased significantly from the first year of treatment with omalizumab. The beneficial effect was maintained in the long-term, along with a good safety profile. Our results position omalizumab as an effective long-term treatment in pediatric patients with severe persistent allergic asthma.
About The Expert
Antonio Nieto García
Teresa Garriga-Baraut
Ana Mª Plaza Martín
María Nieto Cid
Javier Torres Borrego
María Del Mar Folqué Giménez
Jaime Lozano Blasco
Montse Bosque García
Laura Moreno-Galarraga
Miguel Tortajada-Girbés
Cristina Rivas Juesas
María Penín Antón
María Araceli Caballero-Rabasco
Mirella Gaboli
Alejandro López Neyra
Juan Navarro Morón
Andrea Freixa
Laura Valdesoiro Navarrete
Esther Ballester Asensio
Verónica Sanz Santiago
Raquel Romero García
Álvaro Gimeno Díaz de Atauri
Alfredo Valenzuela Soria
Mercedes Sánchez Mateos
José Batlles Garrido
Anselmo Andrés Martín
Elena Campos Alonso
Carmen Aragón Fernández
Elena Vázquez Rodríguez
Luz Martínez Pardo
Genoveva Del Río Camacho
Ángel Mazón Ramos
References
PubMed