Effectiveness of omalizumab in children and adolescents with uncontrolled allergic asthma: a case series from Poland

Introduction
Omalizumab has been successfully used as a supplementary therapy to improve asthma control in children aged ≥ 6 years with moderate or severe persistent allergic asthma.

Aim
To evaluate effectiveness of omalizumab in children and adolescents with uncontrolled allergic asthma.

Material and methods
Seventeen children and adolescents aged 8–16, treated with omalizumab from 2011 until now, were enrolled into the retrospective, open, uncontrolled, observational study. The effectiveness of therapy, asthma control, quality of life, exacerbation rate, corticosteroid use, were assessed after 16, 52 and 104 weeks of treatment and after omalizumab cessation.

Results
The response to treatment was assessed as excellent (9 patients) and good (6 patients), according to global evaluation of treatment effectiveness (GETE). A statistically significant decrease in use of oral corticosteroids (OCS) and leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) was observed. The doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) decreased significantly (the mean dose of ICS converted to a dose of budesonide before treatment was 1503.53 μg/day versus 903.53 μg after discontinuation). The mean asthma control questionnaire (ACQ) value decreased from 2.10 to 0.84 points and the mean mini asthma quality of life questionnaire (miniAQLQ) outcome increased from 4.37 to 6.1 points. The mean number of exacerbations decreased from 5.59 to 0.53 per year.

Conclusions
Our results are supportive of the existing evidence that omalizumab therapy improves asthma control, reduces OCS and ICS use, decreases exacerbations in children and adolescents with severe/moderate uncontrolled allergic asthma.