ArticleBMJ open respiratory research2025
Real-life impact of anti-IL5 therapy on exacerbation types in patients with obstructive lung disease.
Article in BMJ open respiratory research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Established and Emerging Biological Therapies for the Treatment of Comorbid Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Review
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3 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundWhile anti-interleukin (IL) 5 therapy has been shown to be efficacious to reduce exacerbation rates (ERs) in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma and might also benefit patients with coexisting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), it is unknown whether anti-IL5 therapy reduces all types of exacerbations in heterogeneous (smoking) real-life patients.
methodsAdults initiating mepolizumab or benralizumab between 2017 and 2019 were identified in Belgian nationwide data. The ER in the year before anti-IL5 therapy initiation was compared to the year after. Exacerbations were classified as severe (hospitalised) exacerbations or moderate (outpatient) exacerbations treated with antibiotics, oral corticosteroids (OCS) or the combination.
resultsAmong 807 patients initiating anti-IL5 therapy, severe ER was 40±4 exacerbations per 100 patient years pretreatment versus 17±3 post-treatment initiation (p<0.001, relative risk reduction (RRR) -56%, number needed to treat (NNT)=4) and significantly reduced both in patients without COPD (n=616, ER
conclusionsIn this nationwide cohort study, treatment targeting eosinophilic inflammation was significantly associated with reduced moderate and severe exacerbations, with seemingly less impact on corticosteroid-treated exacerbations in (current smoking) patients with coexisting COPD, but still a large number of hospitalisations were prevented.
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