Allergic asthma and omalizumab – The experience at the Centro Hospitalar Cova da Beira

Asthma control and exacerbations in patients with severe asthma treated with omalizumab in Portugal

“…The asthma control score did not change significantly during the follow-up period probably because patients were already under treatment with omalizumab at enrolment. This 'stability' concurs with several studies 5,16 that reported improvements in asthma control in the first 16 weeks of omalizumab treatment and a tendency to stabilize the effect in the following months. Previously published studies using CARAT questionnaire to assess the control of asthma and rhinitis in other settings found a mean (SD) CARAT score of 17.8 (6.4) in a community of inner Portugal, 19 17.8 (0.2) in patients followed in the Allergology Department of a University Hospital 20 and 17.2 (6.7) in patients referred to the Allergy outpatient clinic from a district hospital.…”

Real-life efficacy and safety of omalizumab in Portuguese patients with persistent uncontrolled asthma

“…12 Moreover, the 8.6% and 9.6% improvements in the FEV1% predicted at Months 12 and 24 observed in this analysis are similar to those observed in another Portuguese study with omalizumab. 13 In this study, the number of patients on OCS maintenance treatment reduced from 11 to 4 patients at Month 24 accompanied with a dose reduction from 16.7 mg (prednisolone equivalent) to 13.1 mg.…”