Abstract
Background: Although 50–75% of patients with asthma are reported to have mild asthma, exacerbations may still play a significant role in their disease burden. NOVELTY (NCT02760329) is a global, prospective, observational study of patients with a physician-assigned diagnosis of asthma and/or COPD. Physicians were asked to classify asthma as mild, moderate or severe; no criteria were provided.
Objective: To describe the exacerbation burden of patients with physician-assessed mild asthma in the NOVELTY study.
Methods: Baseline characteristics of patients with physician-assessed mild asthma were described.
Results: Baseline characteristics for 2,175 patients with physician-assessed mild asthma (of 5,940 with asthma) were reported (Table). By physician report, in the past 12 months 527 patients (24%) had ≥1 exacerbation; mean exacerbation rate was 0.4 events/year. Healthcare resource utilisation data were available for 714/867 physician-reported exacerbations; 8% lasted for >1 month and 50% required oral corticosteroids (OCS). By patient report (n=1,494), 835 patients (56%) reported symptom worsening in the past 3 months; 25% of these patients received OCS for symptom worsening (for >2 weeks in 15% of patients who received OCS).
Conclusions: In NOVELTY, many patients with physician-assessed mild asthma had a high exacerbation burden; one in four had ≥1 exacerbation in the past 12 months, and OCS was used in half of exacerbations.
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2020; 56: Suppl. 64, 969.
This abstract was presented at the 2020 ERS International Congress, in session “Respiratory viruses in the "pre COVID-19" era”.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2020
