Real-world comparative effectiveness of biologic therapies in severe asthma: EU-ADVANTAGE.

Background: In Europe, although multiple biologics have been approved for the treatment of severe asthma (SA), comparative data from real-world settings remain limited. This study compared the real-world effectiveness of dupilumab with that of omalizumab, benralizumab and mepolizumab in European patients with SA.

Methods: In the EU-ADVANTAGE study, physicians from France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands were recruited to review medical charts of patients (aged ≥12 years) who had physician-confirmed SA and initiated dupilumab, omalizumab, benralizumab or mepolizumab (index) between May 2019 and February 2022.

Prevalence and burden of possible refractory chronic cough in four European countries.

Background: This cross-sectional study estimated prevalence and health-related burden of possible refractory or unexplained chronic cough (RCC).

Methods: This secondary analysis of survey data from France, Germany, Italy and Spain included respondents who self-reported current chronic cough (CC; cough ≥8 weeks) and no smoking/vaping, lung cancer history, interstitial lung disease or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/oral steroid use. Respondents who scored ≥4 (of 10) on a cough severity visual analogue scale and did not report "a great deal" of relief from ≥1 category of eligible medications for CC-associated conditions were included in the possible RCC group; of these, respondents who received ≥2 or 3 categories of eligible medications were also included in possible RCC subgroups 1 and 2, respectively.

Eosinophils in asthma phenotypes: perpetrators or guilty by association?

25 years after publication of a clinical trial in The Lancet on the anti-IL-5 antibody mepolizumab in individuals with allergic asthma, evidence has accumulated that the pathogenetic role of eosinophils is fundamentally different between asthma phenotypes. In the allergen-driven form of asthma, often starting in childhood or during adolescence (ie, early onset asthma), blood eosinophil counts are variable, mainly dependent on allergen exposure, and play only a minor role (as a so-called sidekick) in allergen-induced asthma symptoms. By contrast, eosinophils are persistently elevated and are crucial drivers of the disease in the intrinsic (eosinophilic) form of asthma, which typically starts in adulthood (ie, adult-onset asthma).

Triple inhaled therapy in asthma: Beliefs, behaviours and doubts.

Long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMA) in association with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) plus long-acting beta-2 agonists (LABA) are recommended by the GINA report as further option in step 4 and first choice in step 5 treatment. Despite consistent evidence of its efficacy and safety, inhaled triple therapy (ITT) is still not largely used in patients with asthma. With the aim to explore belief and behaviours of asthma specialists, an ad hoc survey has been developed by a panel of Interasma Scientific Network (INESnet) experts and subsequently defined by two Delphi rounds among an international group of physicians.