The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on severe asthma care in Europe: will care change for good?

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put pressure on healthcare services, forcing the reorganisation of traditional care pathways. We investigated how physicians taking care of severe asthma patients in Europe reorganised care, and how these changes affected patient satisfaction, asthma control and future care.

Methods

In this European-wide cross-sectional study, patient surveys were sent to patients with a physician-diagnosis of severe asthma, and physician surveys to severe asthma specialists between November 2020 and May 2021.

Results

1101 patients and 268 physicians from 16 European countries contributed to the study. Common physician-reported changes in severe asthma care included use of video/phone consultations (46%), reduced availability of physicians (43%) and change to home-administered biologics (38%). Change to phone/video consultations was reported in 45% of patients, of whom 79% were satisfied or very satisfied with this change. Of 709 patients on biologics, 24% experienced changes in biologic care, of whom 92% were changed to home-administered biologics and of these 62% were satisfied or very satisfied with this change. Only 2% reported worsening asthma symptoms associated with changes in biologic care. Many physicians expect continued implementation of video/phone consultations (41%) and home administration of biologics (52%).

Conclusions

Change to video/phone consultations and home administration of biologics was common in severe asthma care during the COVID-19 pandemic and was associated with high satisfaction levels in most but not all cases. Many physicians expect these changes to continue in future severe asthma care, though satisfaction levels may change after the pandemic.

Allergen Provocation Tests in Respiratory Research: Building on 50 Years of Experience

Allergen provocation test is an established model of allergic airway diseases, including asthma and allergic rhinitis, allowing the study of allergen-induced changes in respiratory physiology and inflammatory mechanisms in sensitised individuals as well as their associations. In the upper airways, allergen challenge is focused on the clinical and pathophysiological sequelae of the early allergic response and applied both as a diagnostic tool and in research settings. In contrast, the bronchial allergen challenge has almost exclusively served as a research tool in specialised research settings with a focus on the late asthmatic response and the underlying type 2 inflammation. The allergen-induced late asthmatic response is also characterised by prolonged airway narrowing, increased non-specific airway hyperresponsiveness and features of airway remodelling including the small airways, and hence, allows the study of several key mechanisms and features of asthma. In line with these characteristics, the allergen challenge has served as a valued tool to study the crosstalk of the upper and lower airways and in proof of mechanism studies of drug development. In recent years, several new insights into respiratory phenotypes and endotypes including the involvement of the upper and small airways, innovative biomarker sampling methods and detection techniques, refined lung function testing as well as targeted treatment options, further shaped the applicability of the allergen provocation test in precision medicine. These topics, along with descriptions of subject populations and safety, in line with the updated GINA2021, will be addressed in this paper.

Correlation-Based Deconvolution (CorrDec) To Generate High-Quality MS2 Spectra from Data-Independent Acquisition in Multisample Studies

Data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) is essential for information-rich spectral annotations in untargeted metabolomics. However, the acquired MS2 spectra are highly complex, posing significant annotation challenges. We have developed a correlation-based deconvolution (CorrDec) method that uses ion abundance correlations in multisample studies using DIA-MS as an update of our MS-DIAL software. CorrDec is based on the assumption that peak intensities of precursor and fragment ions correlate across samples and exploits this quantitative information to deconvolute complex DIA spectra. CorrDec clearly improved deconvolution of the original MS-DIAL deconvolution method (MS2Dec) in a dilution series of chemical standards and a 224-sample urinary metabolomics study. The primary advantage of CorrDec over MS2Dec is the ability to discriminate coeluting low-abundance compounds. CorrDec requires the measurement of multiple samples to successfully deconvolute DIA spectra; however, our randomized assessment demonstrated that CorrDec can contribute to studies with as few as 10 unique samples. The presented methodology improves compound annotation and identification in multisample studies and will be useful for applications in large cohort studies.

Efficacy and safety of multiple doses of QGE031 (ligelizumab) versus omalizumab and placebo in inhibiting allergen-induced early asthmatic responses

BACKGROUND

Omalizumab is an established anti-IgE therapy for the treatment of allergic diseases that prevents IgE from binding to its receptor. QGE031 is an investigational anti-IgE antibody that binds IgE with higher affinity than omalizumab.

OBJECTIVE

This study compared the effects of QGE031 with those of omalizumab on clinical efficacy, IgE levels, and FcεRI expression in a clinical model of allergic asthma.

METHODS

Thirty-seven patients with mild allergic asthma were randomized to subcutaneous omalizumab, placebo, or QGE031 at 24, 72, or 240 mg every 2 weeks for 10 weeks in a double-blind, parallel-group multicenter study. Inhaled allergen challenges and skin tests were conducted before dosing and at weeks 6, 12, and 18, and blood was collected until 24 weeks after the first dose.

RESULTS

QGE031 elicited a concentration- and time-dependent change in the provocative concentration of allergen causing a 15% decrease in FEV₁ (allergen PC₁₅) that was maximal and approximately 3-fold greater than that of omalizumab (P = .10) and 16-fold greater than that of placebo (P = .0001) at week 12 in the 240-mg cohort. Skin responses reached 85% suppression at week 12 in the 240-mg cohort and were maximal at week 18. The top doses of QGE031 consistently suppressed skin test responses among subjects but had a variable effect on allergen PC₁₅ (2-fold to 500-fold change). QGE031 was well tolerated.

CONCLUSION

QGE031 has greater efficacy than omalizumab on inhaled and skin allergen responses in patients with mild allergic asthma. These data support the clinical development of QGE031 as a treatment of asthma.

Combination of budesonide/formoterol on demand improves asthma control by reducing exercise-induced bronchoconstriction

Background

In mild asthma exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is usually treated with inhaled short-acting β₂ agonists (SABAs) on demand.

Objective

The hypothesis was that a combination of budesonide and formoterol on demand diminishes EIB equally to regular inhalation of budesonide and is more effective than terbutaline inhaled on demand.

Methods

Sixty-six patients with asthma (>12 years of age) with verified EIB were randomised to terbutaline (0.5 mg) on demand, regular budesonide (400 μg) and terbutaline (0.5 mg) on demand, or a combination of budesonide (200 μg)  + formoterol (6 μg) on demand in a 6-week, double-blind, parallel-group study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00989833). The patients were instructed to perform three to four working sessions per week. The main outcome was EIB 24 h after the last dosing of study medication.

Results

After 6 weeks of treatment with regular budesonide or budesonide+formoterol on demand the maximum post-exercise forced expiratory volume in 1 s fall, 24 h after the last medication, was 6.6% (mean; 95% CI −10.3 to −3.0) and 5.4% (−8.9 to −1.8) smaller, respectively. This effect was superior to inhalation of terbutaline on demand (+1.5%; −2.1 to +5.1). The total budesonide dose was approximately 2.5 times lower in the budesonide+formoterol group than in the regular budesonide group. The need for extra medication was similar in the three groups.

Conclusions

The combination of budesonide and formoterol on demand improves asthma control by reducing EIB in the same order of magnitude as regular budesonide treatment despite a substantially lower total steroid dose. Both these treatments were superior to terbutaline on demand, which did not alter the bronchial response to exercise. The results question the recommendation of prescribing SABAs as the only treatment for EIB in mild asthma.