Some PCPs are unaware of biologic therapy for uncontrolled asthma

Key takeaways:

• Nearly half of surveyed primary care physicians reported unawareness of biologics for asthma.
• A majority of these physicians also did not get lab work or use absolute eosinophil counts to help manage asthma.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Unfamiliarity with biologics to treat uncontrolled asthma was reported by 42% of primary care physicians, according to a poster presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.

“Most patients with asthma are managed by primary care physicians and not by an asthma specialist,” Bijalben R. Patel, MD, resident in the department of internal medicine at University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, said during her presentation. “This is important because routinely it is the specialists who are more frequently updated on asthma treatment advances including biologic therapy, which is shown to decrease asthma exacerbation rates.”

Using results from a survey emailed to 85 primary care attending and resident physicians across three different departments (internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics), Patel and colleagues assessed how aware this population is of biologic therapy for uncontrolled asthma and how they manage patients with this condition.

Within the total cohort, nearly half (42%) did not know about these biologics, and more than three-quarters (77%) referred patients to asthma specialists only after they experienced two or more exacerbations within 1 year.

“It is important to note that regardless of the frequency of asthma patients seen, [a] majority of the referrals were happening after two exacerbations in a year,” Patel said.

Further, most physicians did not get lab work (82%) or use absolute eosinophil counts (90%) when deciding how to manage/treat a patient’s asthma, according to the poster.

When evaluating how the frequency of PCP referrals to an asthma specialist impacted biologic therapy familiarity, researchers did not observe any significant changes. Referral frequency also did not alter eligibility criteria.

Notably, researchers found a higher likelihood of obtaining lab values among physicians who saw patients with asthma at least once a week (P = .02) and physicians who made referrals to asthma specialists (P = .029).

“Improving the knowledge of asthma treatment options and treatable traits will likely result in a more appropriate referral pattern to asthma specialists, often optimizing treatment with the appropriate use of biologics,” Patel said during the presentation. “The intended goal is a decrease in asthma exacerbations and health care expenditures, improved quality of life of the patient and minimizing the risk of systemic corticosteroids.”

Reference:

• Survey reveals 42% of primary care physicians are unfamiliar with biologics to treat asthma. https://annualmeeting.acaai.org/2023/biologics-asthma.cfm. Published Nov. 9, 2023. Accessed Nov. 9, 2023.