Real-world effectiveness and clinical outcomes of biologic therapy in severe asthma: A single-center experience from the United Arab Emirates.
- 1Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Zayed Military Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Abstract
Background
Severe asthma remains a significant global healthcare challenge, contributing disproportionately to morbidity and healthcare utilisation despite guideline-based therapy. In the Middle East, a study reported a severe asthma prevalence of 6.4% regionally and 7.6% in Gulf countries. Affected individuals experience persistent symptoms, reduced quality of life, and frequent exacerbations. While biologic therapies have transformed the management of severe asthma by targeting specific inflammatory pathways, real-world data from the Gulf region remain limited. This study evaluates the real-world effectiveness of biologic therapies at a tertiary care center.Methods
This retrospective observational cohort study included adults with severe asthma receiving biologic therapy between 2020 and 2025. Exacerbation frequency, Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores, pulmonary function, biomarkers, and hospitalization rates were assessed at baseline and 12 months. Biologics evaluated included mepolizumab, benralizumab, dupilumab, tezepelumab, and omalizumab.Results
In 114 patients with severe asthma, biologic therapy led to significant improvements in all measured domains. Annual exacerbations decreased by 52%, and ACT scores improved from 11.9 to 18.1 (P < 0.001). Blood eosinophil counts declined by 54%, fractional exhaled nitric oxide by 37%, hospitalization rates by 47%, and steroid courses by 48% (all P < 0.001). Forced expiratory volume in 1 s also improved significantly. While dupilumab showed numerically greater improvements, these differences were not statistically significant after adjustment. Adverse events were infrequent (8.8%) and mostly mild.Conclusion
Biologic therapy significantly improved clinical outcomes, reduced exacerbations, decreased corticosteroid exposure, and suppressed type 2 inflammatory biomarkers in a real-world UAE cohort, supporting the use of precision biologics in Middle Eastern populations and highlighting the need for larger prospective regional studies.
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BibTeX
@article{ayoob2026realworld,
title = {{Real-world effectiveness and clinical outcomes of biologic therapy in severe asthma: A single-center experience from the United Arab Emirates.}},
author = {Muhammed Anas Ayoob and Khulood Abdulla Salem Al Mazrooei and Najla Salem Ahmed Al Nahdi},
journal = {Annals of thoracic medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.4103/atm.atm_183_26},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42936336},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Real-world effectiveness and clinical outcomes of biologic therapy in severe asthma: A single-center experience from the United Arab Emirates.
AU - Muhammed Anas Ayoob
AU - Khulood Abdulla Salem Al Mazrooei
AU - Najla Salem Ahmed Al Nahdi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Annals of thoracic medicine
DO - 10.4103/atm.atm_183_26
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42936336
AB - Background Severe asthma remains a significant global healthcare challenge, contributing disproportionately to morbidity and healthcare utilisation despite guideline-based therapy. In the Middle East, a study reported a severe asthma prevalence of 6.4% regionally and 7.6% in Gulf countries. Affected individuals experience persistent symptoms, reduced quality of life, and frequent exacerbations. While biologic therapies have transformed the management of severe asthma by targeting specific inflammatory pathways, real-world data from the Gulf region remain limited. This study evaluates the real-world effectiveness of biologic therapies at a tertiary care center.Methods This retrospective observational cohort study included adults with severe asthma receiving biologic therapy between 2020 and 2025. Exacerbation frequency, Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores, pulmonary function, biomarkers, and hospitalization rates were assessed at baseline and 12 months. Biologics evaluated included mepolizumab, benralizumab, dupilumab, tezepelumab, and omalizumab.Results In 114 patients with severe asthma, biologic therapy led to significant improvements in all measured domains. Annual exacerbations decreased by 52%, and ACT scores improved from 11.9 to 18.1 (P < 0.001). Blood eosinophil counts declined by 54%, fractional exhaled nitric oxide by 37%, hospitalization rates by 47%, and steroid courses by 48% (all P < 0.001). Forced expiratory volume in 1 s also improved significantly. While dupilumab showed numerically greater improvements, these differences were not statistically significant after adjustment. Adverse events were infrequent (8.8%) and mostly mild.Conclusion Biologic therapy significantly improved clinical outcomes, reduced exacerbations, decreased corticosteroid exposure, and suppressed type 2 inflammatory biomarkers in a real-world UAE cohort, supporting the use of precision biologics in Middle Eastern populations and highlighting the need for larger prospective regional studies.
SN - 1817-1737
SN - 1998-3557
ER -