Severe asthma in adults: what are the important questions?

The term severe refractory asthma (SRA) in adults applies to patients who remain difficult to control despite extensive re-evaluation of diagnosis and management following an observational period of at least 6 months by a specialist. Factors that influence asthma control should be recognized and adequately addressed prior to confirming the diagnosis of SRA. This report presents statements according to the literature defining SRA in order address the important questions. Phenotyping SRA will improve our understanding of mechanisms, natural history, and prognosis. Female gender, obesity, and smoking are associated with SRA. Atopy is less frequent in SRA, but occupational sensitizers are common inducers of new-onset SRA. Viruses contribute to severe exacerbations and can persist in the airways for long periods. Inflammatory cells are in the airways of the majority of patients with SRA and persist despite steroid therapy. The T(H)2 immune process alone is inadequate to explain SRA. Reduced responsiveness to corticosteroids is common, and epithelial cell and smooth muscle abnormalities are found, contributing to airway narrowing. Large and small airway wall thickening is observed, but parenchymal abnormalities may influence airway limitation. Inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators are the mainstay of treatment, but patients with SRA remain uncontrolled, indicating a need for new therapies

Measures of adherence in patients with severe asthma prescribed systemic steroids in the U-BIOPRED cohort

Introduction: Rates of sub-optimal adherence to medications in asthma range up to 70%; the impact in severe asthma is likely to be particularly high. We measured self-reported adherence in participants in the U-BIOPRED cohort prescribed daily prednisolone using the Medication Adherence Response Scale (MARS), and compared to measured urinary prednisolone and metabolites in order to determine: 1. the prevalence of suboptimal adherence by each method; 2. the ability of MARS to predict urinary steroid detection. Methods: Participants completed the MARS, and/or provided urine samples (analysed for prednisolone and metabolites by LCMS). The performance characteristics of the MARS predicting undetected urinary steroid were calculated in the subgroup having both tests. Results: 181 participants currently taking regular oral corticosteroids were included, 59% female, mean (SD) age 54(12)yrs, FEV1 64.7(20.4)% predicted. Sub-optimal adherence (MARS score < 4.5) was reported in 62 participants, and 76 did not have detectable urinary prednisolone or metabolites. Good adherence by both methods was detected in only 52 participants (34%, see table). There was no difference in daily prednisolone dose between detectable and undetectable metabolites groups (p=0.848). Conclusion: Low levels of adherence to treatment in severe asthma is a common problem, when measured either directly or self-reported. There was very poor agreement (48% concordance) between these two methods, and we suggest that, for now both approaches should be used

Measures of adherence in patients with severe asthma prescribed systemic steroids in the U-BIOPRED cohort

Introduction: Rates of sub-optimal adherence to medications in asthma range up to 70%; the impact in severe asthma is likely to be particularly high. We measured self-reported adherence in participants in the U-BIOPRED cohort prescribed daily prednisolone using the Medication Adherence Response Scale (MARS), and compared to measured urinary prednisolone and metabolites in order to determine: 1. the prevalence of suboptimal adherence by each method; 2. the ability of MARS to predict urinary steroid detection. Methods: Participants completed the MARS, and/or provided urine samples (analysed for prednisolone and metabolites by LCMS). The performance characteristics of the MARS predicting undetected urinary steroid were calculated in the subgroup having both tests. Results: 181 participants currently taking regular oral corticosteroids were included, 59% female, mean (SD) age 54(12)yrs, FEV1 64.7(20.4)% predicted. Sub-optimal adherence (MARS score < 4.5) was reported in 62 participants, and 76 did not have detectable urinary prednisolone or metabolites. Good adherence by both methods was detected in only 52 participants (34%, see table). There was no difference in daily prednisolone dose between detectable and undetectable metabolites groups (p=0.848). Conclusion: Low levels of adherence to treatment in severe asthma is a common problem, when measured either directly or self-reported. There was very poor agreement (48% concordance) between these two methods, and we suggest that, for now both approaches should be used