Omalizumab: what benefits should we expect?

Giménez Arnau, Anna Maria; Velasco, Manel; Armario Hita, Jose Carlos; Labrador-Horrillo, Moisés; Silvestre Salvador, Juan Francisco

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1684/ejd.2016.2809

Omalizumab: what benefits should we expect?

Citation

Giménez-Arnau A, Velasco M, Armario Hita JC, Labrador-Horrillo M, Silvestre Salvador JF. Omalizumab: what benefits should we expect?. Eur J Dermatol. 2016 Aug 1;26(4):340-4. doi: 10.1684/ejd.2016.2809

Abstract

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a skin disease characterised by wheal appearance, swelling, itching, and painful skin. Omalizumab has been used for CSU treatment demonstrating good efficacy. To investigate the efficacy and safety of omalizumab treatment in CSU patients in real-life practice. A retrospective analysis was performed on 38 patients suffering from CSU who received 300 mg of omalizumab every four weeks. After omalizumab treatment, 68.4% of patients showed a complete response (UAS7 = 0). All the patients were able to stop treatment with corticosteroids, cyclosporine, and anti-leukotrienes, and only 39.5% of patients remained on anti-histamines. Omalizumab treatment led to a 96% and 65% decrease in emergency room and primary health care visits, respectively, as well as a reduction in the direct costs associated with the disease. No omalizumab-related adverse events were reported. Omalizumab exhibits good efficacy in alleviating the symptoms of CSU, leads to a decrease in concomitant medication use, restores patients' quality of life, and has economic benefits by reducing disease-related health care costs.