Clinical Course of Asthma of Children Treatedwith Omalizumab: Multicenter Study Colombia

Abstract

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics of pediatric patients aged6 to 17 years diagnosed with moderate to severe allergic asthma undergoingtreatment with omalizumab (OMB) from January 2007 to February 2014 in6 cities in Colombia. Methods: This retrospective, longitudinal cohort studyincluded 63 children and adolescents. Evaluated outcomes includedsymptoms control, exacerbations frequency, decreased use of asthmacontrol drugs and presence of adverse events before starting treatment andafter 4 and 12 months of OMB use. Results: after 4 and 12 months oftreatment 89% and 96.6% of children under 12 years of age (p ¼ 0.0015) and78% and 91.6% of children over 12 years of age (p ¼ 0.0145) had goodsymptom control, respectively. Furthermore, after 12 months, the number ofexacerbations decreased to 2 (p ¼ 0.00), the frequency of beta2 rescueinhaler use decreased to 0.37 days (p ¼ 0.00), and the use of controller drugsdecreased in 73% of patients, including decreased use of inhaledcorticosteroids in 62%. Only one severe adverse event was reported inone patient. Conclusion: OMB is an effective drug for the clinical control ofmoderate and severe allergic asthma. It reduces asthma symptoms andexacerbations and exhibits good tolerance and few severe adverse event