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Updated: May 31, 2026
Bronchial Thermoplasty: A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Severe Asthma
Published on: November 4, 2010
Omalizumab in patients with severe asthma: the XCLUSIVE study
Christian Schumann1, Cornelia Kropf, Thomas Wibmer
1Department of Internal Medicine II, University of Ulm Medical Center, Ulm, Germany. christian.schumann@uniklinik-ulm.de
Background And Aims:
Although the efficacy and safety of omalizumab (OMA) in uncontrolled severe allergic asthma has been demonstrated in several randomised controlled trials (RCTs), information on the treatment in a practice-related setting is limited. Thus, the purpose of this prospective multi-centre study (XCLUSIVE) was to investigate the efficacy, compliance and utilisation of OMA therapy in real-life clinical practice in Germany.
Methods:
One hundred ninety-five asthmatic patients initiated on anti-Immunoglobulin E (IgE) IgE treatment were followed-up for 6 months. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1) ), exacerbation rate, days of absence, asthma symptoms [Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ)], a Global Evaluation of Treatment Effectiveness (GETE) and medication use were assessed.
Results:
Measured outcome variables improved after a 16-week treatment period with OMA (FEV(1) +13.7% predicted P < 0.05, exacerbation rate -74.9% P < 0.0001, days of absence -92.1% P < 0.001, ACQ -43.7% P < 0.0001). Investigators evaluated the effectiveness of OMA by GETE in 78.8% as excellent or good (responder), and in 12.6%/8.6% as moderate/poor or worse (non-responder). Responders demonstrated better improvement of FEV(1), exacerbation rate, days of absence, ACQ and reduction of oral corticosteroids compared with non-responders.
Conclusion:
Results of effectiveness strongly suggest that the efficacy demonstrated in RCTs can be transposed to a clinical practice-related setting.
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