{"title":"Resolution of daytime and night-time respiratory symptoms but persistent sleep apnea in severe asthma with the add-on of benralizumab.","authors":"Pasquale Tondo, Francesco Fanfulla","doi":"10.4081/mrm.2022.853","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The relationship between asthma and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a widely debated topic in the scientific literature with the controversy surrounding the bi-directional nature of the correlation.</p><p><strong>Case presentation: </strong>We report the case of a 59-year-old male being affected by severe allergic eosinophilic asthma and severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] 32 ev·hr<sup>-1</sup>). Due to a clinical worsening of asthma (aggravation of dyspnea, chest constriction and night-time respiratory symptoms), despite the optimal therapy for asthma and recurrent administration of systemic corticosteroids, we have added-on treatment with benralizumab (monoclonal anti-interleukin 5 antibody). After eight months, the patient reported an improvement in asthma control (asthma control test [ACT]= 25 points), in pulmonary function and a good control of nocturnal symptoms of both diseases <i>(i.e</i>., wheezing, snoring, etc.). Then, the follow up polysomnography (PSG) was performed resulting in a high reduction of OSA severity (~18% AHI) even if obstructive events persisted and almost resolution of nocturnal hypoxemia. So, a trial with positive airway pressure (PAP) was proposed to the patient, who declined.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In consideration of our experience, we suggest that the nocturnal profile of patients with severe asthma should be always studied by a sleep investigation to prevent the negative effects of interaction with OSA. However, further studies on larger samples are needed to better understand the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of benralizumab on obstructive events during sleep.</p>","PeriodicalId":49031,"journal":{"name":"Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2022-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/8c/04/mrm-17-1-853.PMC9577560.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4081/mrm.2022.853","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2022/1/12 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: The relationship between asthma and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a widely debated topic in the scientific literature with the controversy surrounding the bi-directional nature of the correlation.
Case presentation: We report the case of a 59-year-old male being affected by severe allergic eosinophilic asthma and severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] 32 ev·hr-1). Due to a clinical worsening of asthma (aggravation of dyspnea, chest constriction and night-time respiratory symptoms), despite the optimal therapy for asthma and recurrent administration of systemic corticosteroids, we have added-on treatment with benralizumab (monoclonal anti-interleukin 5 antibody). After eight months, the patient reported an improvement in asthma control (asthma control test [ACT]= 25 points), in pulmonary function and a good control of nocturnal symptoms of both diseases (i.e., wheezing, snoring, etc.). Then, the follow up polysomnography (PSG) was performed resulting in a high reduction of OSA severity (~18% AHI) even if obstructive events persisted and almost resolution of nocturnal hypoxemia. So, a trial with positive airway pressure (PAP) was proposed to the patient, who declined.
Conclusions: In consideration of our experience, we suggest that the nocturnal profile of patients with severe asthma should be always studied by a sleep investigation to prevent the negative effects of interaction with OSA. However, further studies on larger samples are needed to better understand the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of benralizumab on obstructive events during sleep.
期刊介绍:
Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine is the official journal of the Italian Respiratory Society - Società Italiana di Pneumologia (IRS/SIP). The journal publishes on all aspects of respiratory medicine and related fields, with a particular focus on interdisciplinary and translational research.
The interdisciplinary nature of the journal provides a unique opportunity for researchers, clinicians and healthcare professionals across specialties to collaborate and exchange information. The journal provides a high visibility platform for the publication and dissemination of top quality original scientific articles, reviews and important position papers documenting clinical and experimental advances.