The following is a summary of “Number of patient-reported asthma triggers predicts uncontrolled disease among specialist-treated patients with severe asthma,” published in the June 2023 issue of the Allergy, Asthma & Immunology by Chipps et al.
The high disease burden experienced by patients with severe asthma (SA) is frequently precipitated by exposure to disease stimuli. This study aims to assess the prevalence and impact of patient-reported asthma triggers on asthma disease burden in a cohort of subspecialist-treated patients with SA in the United States. CHRONICLE is an observational study of adults with SA receiving biologics or systemic corticosteroids for maintenance or whose disease is uncontrolled on high-dose inhaled corticosteroids and additional controllers.
Patients enrolled between February 2018 and February 2021 had their data analyzed. This analysis assessed associations between patient-reported triggers from a 17-category survey and multiple measures of disease burden. About 1,434 (51%) of the 2,793 enrolled patients completed the trigger questionnaire. The median number of triggers per patient was eight (range interquartile: 5-10). The most common triggers were whether or atmospheric changes, viral infections, seasonal allergies, perennial allergies, and exercise. Patients who reported more triggers had less disease control, lower quality of life, and decreased work productivity.
For each additional trigger, the annualized asthma exacerbations and hospitalizations rates increased by 7% and 17%, respectively (P<.001). The blood eosinophil count was a weaker predictor of disease burden than the trigger number across all measures. Asthma trigger number was positively and significantly associated with increased uncontrolled disease burden across multiple measures among US specialist-treated patients with SA, highlighting the importance of understanding patient-reported triggers in SA.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1081120623001655