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Research letter
Duration of the efficacy of omalizumab after treatment discontinuation in ‘real life’ severe asthma
  1. Maria del Carmen Vennera1,2,
  2. Carlos Sabadell3,
  3. Cesar Picado1,2
  4. on behalf of The Spanish Omalizumab Registry
    1. 1 Department of Pneumology and Respiratory Allergy, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
    2. 2 Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Barcelona, Spain
    3. 3 Department of Pneumology, Hospital de Figueres, Figueres, Catalunya, Spain
    1. Correspondence to Dr Maria del Carmen Vennera, Department of Pneumology and Respiratory Allergy, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona 08036, Spain; mvennera{at}hotmail.com

    Abstract

    Efficacy of omalizumab in severe asthma is well documented; however, the optimal duration of the treatment remains unclear. In an open prospective study, we sought to assess the persistence of response in subjects withdrawing from omalizumab treatment. We evaluated 49 patients who voluntarily accepted to discontinue omalizumab treatment after 6 years of therapy. Asthma relapse was defined as any severe asthma exacerbation associated with loss of asthma control. Twelve patients relapsed in the first year of follow-up, and 7 within 13 and 48 months. These results suggest that the effects of 6 years of omalizumab may persist after discontinuation of therapy in 60% of patients for at least 4 years.

    • asthma pharmacology

    https://doi.org/10.1136/thoraxjnl-2017-210017

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      Footnotes

      • Contributors MCV and CP designed the study. MCV and CS collected data from the Spanish Omalizumab Registry. MCV and CP drafted the manuscript. MCV, CS and CP contributed to interpretation of the results. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

      • Funding This study was supported by a grant from the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR).

      • Competing interests None declared.

      • Patient consent Obtained.

      • Ethics approval The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Clinic Hospital, University of Barcelona.

      • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

      • Collaborators The Spanish Omalizumab Registry: M J Alvarez Puebla, R Irigaray, E Martínez-Moragón, C Pellicer, C Martínez, X Muñoz, C Cañete, L Marquès, N Marina, S Pascual.