TY - JOUR T1 - The APEX study: Retrospective review of oral corticosteroid use in omalizumab-treated severe allergic asthma patients in UK clinical practice JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 38 IS - Suppl 55 SP - p269 AU - Neil Barnes AU - Amr Radwan Y1 - 2011/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p269.abstract N2 - Treatments that reduce oral corticosteroid (OCS) use can help reduce the burden of asthma. We retrospectively reviewed OCS-sparing in 136 omalizumab recipients (age ≥12 years) with severe persistent allergic asthma. The primary endpoint was the difference in OCS quantity given during 12 months pre- and post-omalizumab initiation. Secondary endpoints included changes in lung function, asthma exacerbations and healthcare resource utilization and OCS use in patients on continuous OCS at baseline. Mean (±SD) total quantity of OCS prescribed per year decreased by 34% (p<0.001) between the 12 months pre- (5.5±4.21 g) and post-omalizumab initiation (3.6±3.73 g). During 12 months post-omalizumab initiation 87 patients (64%) stopped/reduced OCS use and 66 (49%) completely stopped. Mean percent predicted FEV1 increased from 66.0±17.63% at baseline to 75.2±21.79% at Week 16 of omalizumab therapy (p=0.001). The number of asthma exacerbations decreased from 3.7±2.69 during 12 months pre-omalizumab to 1.7±1.93 during 12 months post-initiation (-53%; p<0.001). Between the 12 months pre- and post-omalizumab initiation there were reductions in accident/emergency visits (from 1.52±2.19 to 0.46±1.42; -70%) and hospitalizations (from 1.30±1.73 to 0.51±1.10; -61%) (both p<0.001). In 90 patients on continuous OCS at baseline, total quantity of OCS per year decreased from 6.8±4.34 g to 4.4±3.78 g (-36%; p<0.001). In conclusion: in routine UK clinical practice, omalizumab was associated with lower OCS use, improved lung function, and reduced exacerbation frequency and use of healthcare resources, versus the year pre-initiation. ER -