Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2021 May 23:S1081-1206(21)00382-3. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2021.05.021. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Patients with severe asthma frequently have associated comorbidities, which can compound existing symptoms, complicating asthma management.
OBJECTIVE: To describe mepolizumab's real-world effectiveness in patients with severe asthma stratified by common overlapping comorbidities.
METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of patients with asthma from the MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental Database initiating mepolizumab treatment (index date). Eligible patients had ≥1 claim (excluding claims for diagnostic tests) with a diagnosis code for ≥1 of seven comorbidities (atopic disease, nasal polyps, chronic sinusitis, obesity, respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and depression/anxiety) during the 12-month pre-index baseline period; these were used to stratify patients into seven nonmutually exclusive subgroups. Outcomes included asthma exacerbations and exacerbation-related healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) during the 12-month baseline and follow-up periods. Each patient acted as their own control.
RESULTS: Of the 639 patients included, the most common comorbidities were atopic diseases (73.2%), respiratory infections (55.6%), and chronic sinusitis (45.1%). Across all seven comorbidity subgroups, there were significant (P <0.05) reductions of 38-55% and 57-83% in exacerbations and exacerbations requiring hospitalization, respectively, during the follow-up versus baseline period, except for exacerbations requiring hospitalization in the nasal polyps subgroup, due to the small subgroup sample size. During the follow-up versus baseline periods, mean number of OCS claims was significantly (P <0.001) reduced by 29-38%; 39-47% of patients achieved ≥50% OCS dose reduction. Significant reductions in exacerbation-related HCRU were also observed.
CONCLUSION: Mepolizumab treatment provided real-world clinical benefits in patients.
PMID:34038773 | DOI:10.1016/j.anai.2021.05.021