[Severe uncontrolled asthma in patients over 75 years old: Treatment with omalizumab]

INTRODUCTION

With an aging population and an increase in the prevalence of asthma, this disease is becoming more common in the elderly. Nevertheless, the management of severe asthma can be complex, due to an increased risk of uncontrolled disease in patients over 65 years old and partly to the inherent characteristics of old age: comorbidities, underestimation of the role of allergies, poor adherence, difficulties with inhalation devices, etc.

CASE REPORTS

We report two cases of women over 75 with severe persistent allergic asthma not controlled by high doses of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta-2-agonists in whom treatment with omalizumab was initiated. Following treatment with omalizumab a decrease in the number and severity of exacerbations, improved asthma control and dose reduction or discontinuation of systemic corticosteroids were observed. The tolerance of omalizumab was good in both cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Omalizumab is to be considered an effective and well-tolerated therapeutic option for elderly patients with inadequately controlled severe allergic asthma.

[Interest for evaluation of bronchial inflammation in asthma]

Asthma is a heterogeneous chronic inflammatory disease. The respiratory functional tests are sometimes insufficient to confirm the diagnosis. Other tools are developed to estimate the bronchial inflammation such as tests of bronchial provocation, measure of exhaled nitric oxide, induced sputum and exhaled breath condensate. This review presents these non-invasive methods, approaches their interests on the identification of the disease and the treatment.

[Managements of chronic cough in general medicine and requirements of general practitioners]

Chronic cough represents a persistent dilemma, for general practitioner (GP), inducing a lot of medical investigations. Few data are available about French GP practice and their expectancy from cough specialists. We studied management in primary care and impressions of GP of patients with chronic cough. Thirty-four patients were studied. They were mostly women, mean age was above 50 years-old, and the waste majority of patients were non-smokers. Halftime, the symptom was persistent (more than 6 months), had promoted numerous medical consultations (more than five). Drugs were prescribed since the first visit for the majority of patients, principally cough-sedation drugs, steroids and bronchodilatators. A chest radiography was realized in almost all patients. Advices were asked (with a decreasing frequency) to physicians specialized in: ear-nose-throat or respiratory, gastroenterology, allergy, or cardiology. The majority of patients were satisfied of their GP, despite persistent symptoms. From the point of the GP, chronic cough remains a relentless dilemma. Their main purpose, when they addressed their patient to a specialized physician, was to obtain an etiologic diagnosis. When they were asked "which tool will be more adequate for you in the next future?", the preferred response was "a simple etiologic algorithm". Despite persistent symptoms, inducing furthers medical consultations, the main ask from GP was to promote a simple etiologic algorithm.