Extract
Asthma is managed using “step-wise” adjustment of corticosteroid therapy to achieve asthma control. When corticosteroid treatment is adjusted using sputum eosinophil count or exhaled nitric oxide fraction, exacerbations are reduced [1, 2]; however, implementation in clinical care has been slow. In parallel, airway transcriptomic analysis has demonstrated that type 2 eosinophilic inflammation is absent in many patients with minimal response to corticosteroid treatment [3–5]. The UK Refractory Asthma Stratification Programme (RASP-UK) (http://rasp.org.uk/) is exploring non-sputum biomarker-based strategies to target corticosteroid treatment in severe asthma [6, 7], and sought to determine clinician and patient views on clinically relevant reductions in corticosteroid treatment.
Abstract
UK asthma physicians are supportive of biomarker-based steroid adjustment, but European physicians need more evidence http://ow.ly/sTrf30my3jw
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the physicians in both the UK and European Respiratory Society Severe Asthma Clinical Research Collaboration and the all the patients who took part in the modified Delphi process.
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: N.E. Gallagher has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: C.E. Hanratty has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: M. Humbert reports receiving grants, personal fees and nonfinancial support from GlaxoSmithKline, personal fees from AstraZeneca, Novartis and Roche, and grants and personal fees from Sanofi.
Conflict of interest: E. Bel reports receiving research grants to her department and personal fees from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, Novartis and Roche.
Conflict of interest: R Djukanovic reports receiving fees for lectures at symposia organised by Novartis and TEVA, consultation for these two companies as member of advisory boards, and participation in a scientific discussion about asthma organised by GlaxoSmithKline. He is a co-founder of, current consultant to and has shares in Synairgen, a University of Southampton spin out company.
Conflict of interest: V. Hudson has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: N. Amos has nothing to disclose.
Conflict of interest: L.G. Heaney reports having taken part in advisory boards and given lectures at meetings support by GlaxoSmithKline, Respivert, Merck Sharpe & Dohme, Nycomed, Boehringer Ingelheim, Teva, Vectura, Novartis and AstraZeneca, and received sponsorship for attending international scientific meetings from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi and Teva.
- Received June 4, 2018.
- Accepted October 22, 2018.
- Copyright ©ERS 2018
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