Clinical characteristics of children and adolescents with severe therapy-resistant asthma in Brazil

• Published in: Jornal brasileiro de pneumologia 2015-08, Vol.41 (4), p.343-350
• Main Authors: Rodrigues, Andrea Mendonça, Roncada, Cristian, Santos, Giovana, Heinzmann-Filho, João Paulo, de Souza, Rodrigo Godinho, Vargas, Mauro Henrique Moraes, Pinto, Leonardo Araújo, Jones, Marcus Herbert, Stein, Renato Tetelbom, Pitrez, Paulo Márcio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Alergia e imunologia; Anti-Asthmatic Agents - therapeutic use; Asthma - diagnostic imaging; Asthma - drug therapy; Asthma - physiopathology; Brazil; Child; Child, Preschool; Drug Resistance; Escarro; Esophageal pH Monitoring; Female; Humans; Hypersensitivity - diagnosis; Hypersensitivity - drug therapy; Inflamação; Inflammation - diagnosis; Male; Omalizumab - therapeutic use; Original; Quality of Life; Radiography; Respiratory Function Tests; RESPIRATORY SYSTEM; Retrospective Studies; Severity of Illness Index; Skin Tests; Sputum - cytology; Testes de função respiratória; Treatment Failure
• ISSN: 1806-3713; 1806-3756; 1806-3756; 1806-3713
• DOI: 10.1590/S1806-37132015000004462

To describe the clinical characteristics, lung function, radiological findings, and the inflammatory cell profile in induced sputum in children and adolescents with severe therapy-resistant asthma (STRA) treated at a referral center in southern Brazil. We retrospectively analyzed children and adolescents (3-18 years of age) with uncontrolled STRA treated with high-dose inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β2 agonists. We prospectively collected data on disease control, lung function, skin test reactivity to allergens, the inflammatory cell profile in induced sputum, chest CT findings, and esophageal pH monitoring results. We analyzed 21 patients (mean age, 9.2 ± 2.98 years). Of those, 18 (86%) were atopic. Most had uncontrolled asthma and near-normal baseline lung function. In 4 and 7, induced sputum was found to be eosinophilic and neutrophilic, respectively; the inflammatory cell profile in induced sputum having changed in 67% of those in whom induced sputum analysis was repeated. Of the 8 patients receiving treatment with omalizumab (an anti-IgE antibody), 7 (87.5%) showed significant improvement in quality of life, as well as significant reductions in the numbers of exacerbations and hospitalizations. Children with STRA present with near-normal lung function and a variable airway inflammatory pattern during clinical follow-up, showing a significant clinical response to omalizumab. In children, STRA differs from that seen in adults, further studies being required in order to gain a better understanding of the disease mechanisms.