PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Bashir Omarjee AU - Bernard Tanguy TI - Effectiveness of omalizumab in improving quality of life in patients with 'steroid-resistant' asthma and severe allergic rhinitis DP - 2012 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - P2339 VI - 40 IP - Suppl 56 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P2339.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P2339.full SO - Eur Respir J2012 Sep 01; 40 AB - Asthma is a heterogeneous disease, not only in its clinical expression and course but also in its response to treatment with deleterious effects on Quality of life (QoL). Anti- IgE can spare these patients with unnecessary exacerbations and have a better QoL. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of omalizumab treatment in improving QoL in patients with severe allergic rhinitis and asthma.Methods: 41 patients aged > 18 years with steroid-resistant asthma were enrolled in this open label study. Patients were examined at baseline and were treated with omalizumab administered subcutaneously every 2 or 4 weeks (at least 0.016 mg/kg/IgE IU/ml), in addition to existing treatment. At both visits, investigators assessed QoL on a 4 point scale in the following domains: nasal, ocular and asthmatic symptoms. Scores were calculated for individual symptoms, total scores for each domain. Patients were also assessed on impairment of sleep and daily activities.Results: Omalizumab significantly reduced scores from baseline in both nasal and ocular symptoms. Reductions were also seen in the asthmatic symptom scores: significance was noted in wheezing (P=0.0002) and breathless scores (P=0.0002). At baseline, 62 % of patients had some degree of daily activity impairment, whereas at the final visit only 31% had daily activity impairment. Similarly, while 55% of patients had some sleep impairment at baseline, this was reduced to 28% at the final visit.Conclusions: This open label study demonstrated that omalizumab was an effective treatment for the symptoms and sleep/daily life impairments associated with severe allergic rhinitis and asthma.