PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jieqiong Yang
AU  - John Busby
AU  - Liam G Heaney
AU  - Paul E Pfeffer
AU  - David J Jackson
AU  - Adel H Mansur
AU  - Andrew Menzies-Gow
AU  - Salman Siddiqui
AU  - Christopher E Brightling
AU  - Rob Niven
AU  - Mitesh Patel
AU  - Neil C Thomson
AU  - Rekha Chaudhuri
TI  - Effect of maintenance oral corticosteroids on risk factors for frequent exacerbations in a severe adult asthma population
AID  - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2020.5039
DP  - 2020 Sep 07
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 5039
VI  - 56
IP  - suppl 64
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/56/suppl_64/5039.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/56/suppl_64/5039.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2020 Sep 07; 56
AB  - Introduction Risk factors for frequent exacerbations (FE) include poor symptom control and persistent Type 2 inflammation. The effect of maintenance oral corticosteroids (mOCS) on risk factors for FE in a real-world severe asthma population is unknown.Methods We conducted univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses using data from the UK Severe Asthma Registry (UK-SAR) to identify risk factors for FE in patients with and without mOCS. FE was defined as ≥3 severe exacerbations in the past year.Results 1592 patients fulfilled ERS/ATS criteria for severe asthma. 833 (52%) patients were on mOCS. 1137 (71%) were frequent exacerbators. In univariate analyses, patients not on mOCS were more likely to have FE if they had an ACQ-6 score >1.5 (OR 4.70, p<0.01), FeNO >50ppb (OR 1.63, p=0.02) or blood eosinophils >0.45x109/L (OR 1.66, p=0.04). In multivariate analyses, high ACQ-6 score remained a risk factor (OR 6.42, p<0.01), whereas high FeNO and blood eosinophils did not [Figure 1]. ACQ-6 score >1.5 (OR 2.20, p<0.01) and past smoking history (OR 1.54, p=0.02) were risk factors in patients on mOCS and did not change when adjusted for other factors.Conclusion High ACQ-6 score was the strongest independent risk factor for FE in a real-world severe asthma population irrespective of mOCS status. Other FE risk factors differ in patients with and without mOCS.FootnotesCite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2020; 56: Suppl. 64, 5039.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).