Effects of Omalizumab in Non-Atopic Asthma: Results from a Spanish Multicenter Registry

Aim. To evaluate the effectiveness of omalizumab in non-atopic asthma. Methods. Using data from a multicenter registry of severe asthma, we evaluated and compared the clinical outcome of 29 omalizumab-treated severe non-atopic asthmatics with 266 omalizumab-treated severe allergic asthmatics. Effectiveness was assessed by considering severe exacerbations, pulmonary function, the Global Evaluation of Treatment Effectiveness (GETE) scale, and Asthma Control Test (ACT). Results. Omalizumab demonstrated significant improvement in the clinical status of non-atopic asthmatics as measured by GETE, which rose from 1.6 +/- 1.1 to 2.8 +/- 0.8 at 4 months (p = .0215) to 2.9 +/- 0.9 at 1 year (p = .0093) and to 3.4 +/- 0.6 at 2 years (p = .0078), and by the ACT, which increased from 13.0 +/- 5.5 to 17.5 +/- 5.4 at 4 months (p = .0236) to 17.9 +/- 4.8 at 1 year (p = .0136) and to 20.6 +/- 3.9 at 2 years (p = .0024). Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) improved from 61.0 +/- 19.4% to 65.1 +/- 17.2 at 4 months to 64.1 +/- 24.7 at 1 year and to 67.3 +/- 23.0 at 2 years, but without significant differences between initial and follow-up measurements (p = .52, .91, and .45, respectively) and exacerbations decreased from 3.1 +/- 3.5 to 1.9 +/- 2.8 at 1 year (p = .1709) to 1.8 +/- 4.4 at 2 years (p = .2344). The results were not significantly different from those obtained in atopic asthmatics. Conclusion. Anti-IgE therapy can be effective in non-atopic severe asthma.