In this section
@article{Yang:2026:10.1016/j.chest.2026.09.098,
author = {Yang, F and Marshall, DC and Howell, I and Hinks, TSC and Chung, KF and Pavord, ID and Jackson, DJ and Bloom, CI},
doi = {10.1016/j.chest.2026.09.098},
journal = {Chest},
title = {Exacerbation trajectories in biologic-eligible severe asthma patients.},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2026.09.098},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - BACKGROUND: Asthma biologics are highly effective in reducing exacerbations. Improvement in exacerbations after biologic initiation is often attributed to treatment effect. RESEARCH QUESTION: What proportion of biologic-eligible severe asthma patients improve without biologic therapy, and what characterises those who remain frequent exacerbators? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Biologic-naïve adults with severe asthma were identified in nationwide UK electronic medical records. Year 0 was defined as the first year patients met severe asthma criteria with ≥3 systemic corticosteroid-treated exacerbations (biologic-eligible). Post-eligibility exacerbation trajectories were identified using longitudinal k-means. Sensitivity analyses included alternative k and a lower exacerbation threshold (≥2/year). Covariates included the highest blood eosinophil count, inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose and comorbidities. RESULTS: Among 10,078 biologic-eligible adults (median age 51 years; 71% female), we identified three exacerbation trajectories: (1) Remitting-stable (70%, n=7,091), with sustained improvement to <3 exacerbations/year even though ICS reduced after peak exacerbation year; (2) Chronic-frequent (20%, n=1,969), with persistently frequent exacerbations (median 5/year); (3) Refractory-frequent (10%, n=1,018), with high ongoing oral corticosteroid exposure (median >10 courses/year). Results were consistent across sensitivity analyses. Remitting-stable patients were least likely to have bronchiectasis but were otherwise similar in demographics and allergic comorbidities. Blood eosinophil count was higher in the chronic-frequent group (Year 0 median 0.30×109/L) compared with remitting-stable (0.23×109/L) and refractory-frequent groups (0.21×109/L, p<0.001); this was evident several years before meeting biologic exacerbation criteria. INTERPRETATION: Over two-thirds of biologic-eligible patients improved with standard care alone. Chronic-frequen
AU - Yang,F
AU - Marshall,DC
AU - Howell,I
AU - Hinks,TSC
AU - Chung,KF
AU - Pavord,ID
AU - Jackson,DJ
AU - Bloom,CI
DO - 10.1016/j.chest.2026.09.098
PY - 2026///
TI - Exacerbation trajectories in biologic-eligible severe asthma patients.
T2 - Chest
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2026.09.098
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42833547
ER -