The effect of omalizumab treatment on severe allergic asthma and allergic comorbidities: real-life experience from the Czech Anti-IgE Registry.

Introduction: Omalizumab is indicated for the treatment of severe allergic asthma (SAA) and chronic spontaneous urticaria, although a number of studies have confirmed the effectiveness of this therapy also for other IgE-mediated diseases.

Aim: To assess the impact of anti-IgE therapy on SAA and comorbid IgE-mediated allergic diseases in patients treated with omalizumab for SAA enrolled in the CAR (Czech Anti-IgE Registry).

Material and methods: Three hundred and ten patients with SAA treated with omalizumab were enrolled in the CAR. Two hundred and twenty-nine individuals were evaluated after 12 months of omalizumab treatment for asthma control test (ACT), examination of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1 ), the use of systemic corticosteroids, side effects of treatment and clinical effect of omalizumab on allergic comorbidities (allergic rhinitis, chronic urticaria, atopic dermatitis and food allergy).

Results: After 12 months of treatment with omalizumab, patients experienced a significant improvement of ACT and FEV1 , reduction of FENO, use of systemic corticosteroids for asthma exacerbations and dose of maintenance oral corticosteroid therapy. The positive effect of treatment with omalizumab was observed in 82.2% of patients with allergic rhinitis, in 85.7% of patients with chronic urticaria, in 82.1% of patients with atopic dermatitis, and in 67.3% of patients with food allergy.

Conclusions: In the CAR registry, patients with SAA treated with omalizumab showed a significant positive effect of anti-IgE therapy not only on the asthma control, but also on allergic comorbidities.