Open AccessEffectiveness of omalizumab in a patient with severe asthma and atopic dermatitis
Author(s) -
Cristoforo Incorvaia,
Chiara Pravettoni,
Mauro Melato,
MonaRita Yacoub,
Francesco Tarantini,
Gian Galeazzo Riario-Sforza
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
monaldi archives for chest disease. pulmonary series/monaldi archives for chest disease/monaldi archives for chest disease. cardiac series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.196
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 2465-101X
pISSN - 1122-0643
DOI - 10.4081/monaldi.2008.401
Subject(s) - omalizumab , medicine , asthma , atopic dermatitis , immunoglobulin e , concomitant , dermatology , drug , pediatrics , immunology , antibody , pharmacology
The anti-IgE antibody omalizumab is currently indicated in severe asthma not controlled by standard drug therapy. Recently, new indications for omalizumab were suggested, which include atopic dermatitis (AD), a skin disorder characterized by elevated levels of IgE. We report the case of a 39-year old woman with severe asthma and severe AD, both resistant to conventional drug treatment. The patient had a IgE level of 1304 kU/L, which exceeded the recommended maximum level for treating asthma with omalizumab (stated in 700 Ku/L) but was far lower than previously reported in cases of AD treated with anti-IgE. The treatment consisted of a dose of omalizumab 375 mg every two weeks, and induced a rapid improvement of asthma, with no need of other drugs after three months, along with a progressive decline of severity of AD, which after five months was completely cured. These findings suggest the usefulness of omalizumab in patients with concomitant severe asthma and AD, also considering the pharmaco-economic balance obtained by withdrawing the multiple drugs used to treat both diseases.