The ways in which children and adolescents with severe asthma and/or moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis perceive their medication and quality of life has been assessed in a real-world exploratory study, with particular focus on dupilumab.
The study included 57 paediatric patients (severe asthma: n = 31; moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis: n = 21; both: n = 5) with a median age of 11 years and each received one structured interview with a trained pharmacist. This was based on a questionnaire developed by clinical pharmacists and paediatricians consisting of open questions and ratings on 6-point Likert scales ranging from ‘0: not at all’ to ‘5: very strongly’.
Most participants reported their medication for asthma and atopic dermatitis as ‘rather helpful’, with a median score of 4 out of 5. Nonetheless, 68% had previously missed or refused doses. Notably, all patients eventually resumed treatment.
Of the 16 participants receiving dupilumab, all reported symptom improvement within 2.5 months. Clinical scoring assessment supported these perceptions, with a 60.8% reduction in diagnostic scores for dermatitis and improved diagnostic scores for asthma.
The researchers found that dupilumab also led to a reduced fear of injections as the injections became a routine part of their treatment, with the median fear rating out of 5 falling from 3 pre-treatment to 0.5 at the time of interview.
Among the 14 dupilumab recipients with known allergies, half reported reduced symptoms to allergens such as nuts, dust mites, and animal dander, which is an emerging potential benefit of dupilumab requiring further investigation, the researchers said.
Disease burden reduced with dupilumab treatment
The results showed significant potential for improvement in disease burden after several weeks of dupilumab treatment.
Patient-reported outcome measures indicated a low impact of the participants’ asthma or atopic dermatitis on their quality of life at the time of the study. Most participants experienced minimal interference in leisure, school or sleep, and few reported feeling socially excluded.
Commenting on the applicability of their findings, the researchers said: ‘Given the potential impact on social participation, it is crucial to provide effective therapies for asthma and atopic dermatitis, irrespective of whether these are conventional treatments or monoclonal antibodies.’
The researchers considered these real-world findings to reinforce the efficacy of dupilumab and current guideline recommendations for its use in severe paediatric atopic conditions. They also noted that potential fear of injections should not be a barrier to biologic therapy use.
Reference Herzig M, et al. Medication-related perceptions of children and adolescents with severe asthma and moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis: a non-interventional exploratory study. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2025;21:16.
This article was originally published by our sister publication Hospital Pharmacy Europe.
