Real-life omalizumab exposure and discontinuation in a large nationwide population-based study of pediatric and adult asthmatics

What is it about?

Our study describes omalizumab exposure in real life in severe asthma patients in France, along with asthma control following omalizumab initiation and long-term discontinuation (over 1 year), and healthcare use prior and during treatment with omalizumab. This was evaluated in the largest cohort of adults and children, with more than 10 years of follow-up. For that purpose, we reviewed the French administrative healthcare database (SNDS) on patients aged at least 6 years old who initiated omalizumab for at least 16 weeks from 2009 to 2019. Among the 16,750 adults and 2,453 children identified, the duration of omalizumab treatment before discontinuation was 51 and 54 months respectively. Approximately 75%, 40% and 30% of the patients with controlled asthma at omalizumab discontinuation remained controlled and had not resumed omalizumab at 1, 2 and 3 years after discontinuation. Besides, a decrease in the assessed healthcare consumptions was observed following omalizumab initiation and over time, notably hospital admissions for asthma and use of oral corticosteroids. This study also showed noticeable differences between adults and children in terms of omalizumab treatment duration, asthma control after discontinuation, and healthcare use.

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