Managing Severe Asthma in the Era of Biologics: Severe Persistent Eosinophilic Asthma

Although only a minority of asthma patients present with severe disease, these patients represent the greatest area of unmet clinical need in asthma care. A better understanding of asthma pathophysiology has resulted in the development of new targeted biologics in recent years, and this has improved outcomes for some patients with severe asthma and prompted the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to add biologics to its stepwise treatment guidelines for personalized therapy. However, physicians continue to face challenges in determining when to start biologic therapy and which therapy to choose to most effectively manage their patients’ severe asthma symptoms.

In this activity, learners will meet Marie, who has had two recent visits to the emergency room for asthma attacks, and determine what adjustments (if any) are needed to her current treatment regimen—and whether treatment with a biologic is appropriate for her. This activity will also review strategies for navigating administrative challenges when prescribing biologic therapies and tailoring the most appropriate targeted biologic agent to patients with severe asthma based on the patient’s phenotype and endotype.

At the end of the case, learners will play a round of Cranium Challenge to test their ability to apply what they have learned about incorporating biologic therapy for patients with severe asthma.