First experience with omalizumab in a child with severe persistent asthma in Turkey: Case report

Abstract

Human monoclonal anti-IgE antibody (omalizumab) is recently recommended at the fifth step of international asthma guidelines for the treatment of patients older than 12 years of age who have severe persistent allergic asthma uncontrolled despite treatment with high-dose inhaled corticosteroid (>800 μgr/day) in combination with a long-acting β2-agonist and oral leukotriene re¬ceptor antagonist and have serum total Ig E between 30-700 IU/ml. We started omalizumab as addon treatment to a severe persistent asthmatic case who had two severe asthma attacks in the last three-month period, one of which was complicated with pneumomediastinium. This is the first ex¬perience with omalizumab in a child with severe asthma reported from our country. The first seven- month of omalizumab treatment resulted in significant improvements in quality of life and pulmonary functions as well as reductions in inhaled corticosteroid dose and daily symptom scores. © 2010 by Türkiye Klinikleri.