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PEDIATRICS Vol. 110 No. 5 November 2002, pp. e55

ELECTRONIC ARTICLE

Omalizumab Improves Asthma-Related Quality of Life in Children With Allergic Asthma

Robert F. Lemanske, Jr, MD*, Anjuli Nayak, MD{ddagger}, Margaret McAlary, MS§, Francois Everhard, MS||, Angel Fowler-Taylor, RPh§ and Niroo Gupta, MD, PhD§

* University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
{ddagger} University Of Illinois, Peoria, Illinois
§ Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, New Jersey
|| Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland

--> Background and Objective. Omalizumab is a recombinant, humanized, monoclonal anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody, developed for the treatment of IgE-mediated diseases. In children with allergic asthma, it was shown to reduce the requirement for inhaled corticosteroids while protecting against disease exacerbation. Here we report the effects of treatment with omalizumab on asthma-related quality of life (AQoL) in children with allergic asthma.

Methods. This evaluation was part of a previously reported 28-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of omalizumab (at least 0.016 mg/kg/IgE [IU/mL] per 4 weeks) in children with allergic asthma who were well controlled on daily treatment with inhaled corticosteroids. Dosage of beclomethasone dipropionate was kept constant for 16 weeks (steroid-stable phase), then reduced over 8 weeks to the minimum effective dose (steroid-reduction phase). This dose was then maintained for the final 4 weeks. The Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ) was administered at baseline, week 16, and week 28.

Results. Baseline demographics, PAQLQ scores, and other data were comparable for the 2 treatment groups. At the end of the steroid-reduction phase, patients in the omalizumab-treated group reported significant improvements in the "activities" and "symptoms" domain scores as well as overall AQoL compared with placebo. More patients in the omalizumab group achieved clinically relevant (>=0.5) changes in PAQLQ scores during the course of the study, and this difference was significant for activities and overall AQoL.

Conclusion. Omalizumab improves AQoL in children with allergic asthma.

Key Words: allergic asthma • IgE • omalizumab • children • quality of life • asthma

Abbreviations: QoL, quality of life • PAQLQ, Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire • IgE, immunoglobulin E • AQoL, asthma-related quality of life • BDP, beclomethasone dipropionate

Received for publication Feb 27, 2002; Accepted Jul 24, 2002.




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