A Spanish real-world study in patients with severe persistent asthma who achieved asthma control after one-year treatment with omalizumab highlighted the phenotypic heterogeneity of these patients (FENOMA study). This subanalysis describes the clinical improvement in patients with severe allergic asthma in this study (positive skin test and IgE level 30– 1500 IU/mL); n=240. FENOMA was an observational, multicentre, retrospective study in 345 patients achieving asthma control according to Spanish guidelines (GEMA). Baseline demographic and asthma-related characteristics were collected. Outcomes analyzed included the asthma control definition plus changes in background treatments and blood eosinophil count (%) and exhaled nitric oxide fraction [FeNO].
At baseline, patients were aged 45.4± 15.0 years; 67% were women. Median (Q1; Q3) IgE levels were 302.5 IU/mL. After one year of treatment with omalizumab: 43.3% of patients had daytime symptoms vs. 97.7% before treatment, and 49.6% stopped taking oral corticosteroids. FEV1 increased a median of 12%. The number of non-severe asthma exacerbations decreased a median of − 4. Median unplanned visits to primary care or specialists and days of school/workplace absenteeism decreased from 4.9, 1.0, and 0.0 to 0.0, 0.0, and 0.0, respectively. Median eosinophil blood count and FeNO decreased from 5% to 3% and from 36 ppb to 20 ppb, respectively.
This study highlights the asthma control achieved by patients with severe allergic asthma treated with omalizumab, with relevant benefits on the disease’s burden both on patients and the healthcare system.
