Background Over-reliance on short-acting β2-agonists (SABAs) is associated with poor asthma outcomes. However, the extent of SABA use in Turkey is unclear owing to a lack of comprehensive healthcare databases. Here, we describe the demographics, disease characteristics and treatment patterns from the Turkish cohort of the SABA use IN Asthma (SABINA) III study. Methods This observational, cross-sectional study included patients aged ≥ 12 years with asthma from 24 centres across Turkey. Data on sociodemographics, disease characteristics and asthma treatments were collected using electronic case report forms. Patients were classified by investigator-defined asthma severity (guided by the 2017 Global Initiative for Asthma [GINA]) and practice type (primary/specialist care). The primary objective was to describe SABA prescription patterns in the 12 months prior to the study visit. Results Overall, 579 patients were included (mean age [standard deviation; SD]: 47.4 [16.1] years; 74.3% female), all of whom were treated by specialists. Most patients had moderate-to-severe asthma (82.7%, GINA steps 3–5), were overweight or obese (70.5%), had high school or university/post-graduate education (51.8%) and reported fully reimbursed healthcare (97.1%). The mean (SD) asthma duration was 12.0 (9.9) years. Asthma was partly controlled/uncontrolled in 56.3% of patients, and 46.5% experienced ≥ 1 severe exacerbation in the preceding 12 months. Overall, 23.9% of patients were prescribed ≥ 3 SABA canisters in the previous 12 months (considered over-prescription); 42.9% received no SABA prescriptions. As few patients had mild asthma, only 5.7% were prescribed SABA monotherapy. Therefore, most patients (61.5%) were prescribed SABA in addition to maintenance therapy, with 42.8% receiving ≥ 3 SABA canisters in the previous 12 months. Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), ICS + a long-acting β-agonist fixed-dose combination and oral corticosteroids were prescribed to 14.5%, 88.3% and 28.5% of all patients, respectively. Additionally, 10.2% of patients purchased SABA over the counter, of whom 27.1% purchased ≥ 3 canisters in the preceding 12 months. Conclusions Despite all patients being treated by specialists and most receiving fully reimbursed healthcare, nearly a quarter of patients received prescriptions for ≥ 3 SABA canisters in the previous 12 months. This highlights a public health concern and emphasizes the need to align clinical practices with the latest evidence-based recommendations.

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Can omalizumab be an alternative treatment for non-atopic severe asthma? A real-life experience with omalizumab Introduction Omalizumab, a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, has largely demonstrated its efficacy in severe allergic asthma. There are limited data about the effectiveness of omalizumab in patients with non-atopic severe persistent asthma. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of omalizumab in patients with non-atopic severe asthma and compare the data obtained with those in patients with allergic severe asthma. Materials and Methods This study was an observational, retrospective, tertiary single-center study that assessed and compared the clinical outcome of adult patients with severe asthma (165 atopic and 41 non-atopic) who have been on omalizumab for one year or longer between January 2008 and January 2020. Effectiveness was assessed by considering symptom scores (GINA symptom control score), daily systemic corticosteroids (SCS) dosage, blood eosinophil counts, pulmonary function, and number of severe exacerbations and hospitalizations within the last one year. Results Omalizumab exhibited significant improvement in the clinical status of non-atopic asthma patients as measured by GINA symptom score [decreased from 3.77 ± 0.63 to 1.36 ± 1.27 (p< 0.001)], the number of emergency room visits for asthma [decreased from 11.25 ± 14.69 to 0.25 ± 0.55 (p< 0.001)], and the number of hospitalizations [decreased from 1.17 ± 2.87 to 0.14 ± 0.36 (p= 0.036)]. These results were not significantly different from those obtained in allergic asthma patients. FEV 1 improved significantly from 2.08 ± 0.86 to 2.14 ± 0.84 (p= 0.041) and oral corticosteroid doses decreased significantly from 1.67 ± 7.49 to 0.46 ± 2.74 (p= 0.015) in the only atopic group. Conclusion Omalizumab, which is a proven and effective treatment option for allergic asthma, may also be an efficacious alternative option in non-atopic severe asthma.

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