Real-World Evidence of Administration of Biologic Agents in Patients with Severe Asthma: An Analysis of the Respiratory Department of University Hospital of Patras Asthma Registry
<b>Background:</b> Real-world data on currently used biologic agents in patients with severe asthma are lacking. <b>Methods:</b> In this retrospective study, we recorded between 16 May 2020 and 31 December 2024 consecutive patients who presented to our asthma outpatient clinic received a diagnosis of uncontrolled severe asthma and were treated with biologic agents. Outcomes included a comparison of disease phenotypic characteristics, as well as asthma control, lung function, longitudinal use of corticosteroids, and hospitalizations due to exacerbations at baseline and post-biologic treatment at 6-month follow-up. <b>Results:</b> We identified 80 patients with uncontrolled severe asthma treated with biologic agents. The median age (95% CI) at the time of diagnosis was 67.0 (61.0 to 70.0) years. Most patients were female (65.0%, n = 52) and never smokers (51.3%, n = 41). The median value of ACT (95% CI) was 15 (15 to 16) at the time of diagnosis. The mean FEV<sub>1</sub>% predicted ±SD at the baseline was 68.9 ± 22.0. The median value of blood eosinophils (95% CI) was 365 (252 to 448) K/μL in the overall population. One-third (36.3%) of patients were hospitalized due to severe asthma exacerbation in the previous year. Longitudinal use of oral corticosteroids was recorded in 11.3% of included patients. Three patients (3.8%) were treated with omalizumab, 23 patients (28.8%) with mepolizumab, 33 patients (41.2%) with benralizumab and 21 patients (26.2%) with tezepelumab. The median value of ACT (95% CI) post-biologic treatment at 6-month follow-up was 20 (20 to 21), <i>p</i> < 0.0001. The mean FEV<sub>1</sub>% predicted ±SD at 6-month follow-up was 77.6 ± 25.2, <i>p</i> = 0.12. The median value of blood eosinophils (95% CI) 6 months after initiation of biologic treatment was 100 (40 to 121) K/μL, <i>p</i> < 0.0001. Elimination of hospitalizations due to asthma flares was recorded in 97.5% of patients (<i>p</i> < 0.0001). With regard to the longitudinal use of oral corticosteroids, we noticed that 96.2% of patients achieved discontinuation. No treatment-related adverse events were noticed. <b>Conclusions:</b> The administration of current biologic agents in patients with severe asthma seems to be both effective and safe, sparing the toxicity of oral corticosteroids.
Authors
- Dimosthenis Lykouras (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0827-4092)
- Fotios Sampsonas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7796-2959)
- Argyrios Tzouvelekis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6295-1384)
- Vasilina Sotiropoulou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2326-7149)
- Ουρανία Παπαϊωάννου (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3889-679X)
- Kyriakos Karkoulias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9256-9947)
- Dimitrios Komninos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5175-9141)
- Dionysios Papalexatos
- Panagiota Tsiri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3894-0231)
- Ioannis Christopoulos
- Eva Theohari
- Antonios Christopoulos
Institutions
- General University Hospital of Patras (GR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Medicine
- Published
- 2025-03-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14072174
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Asthma and respiratory diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.33
Funders
- University of Patras