Is There a Relationship Between Omalizumab Treatment and the Development of Thromboembolic Events in Asthmatics?

INTRODUCTION: Omalizumab is indicated for the treatment of uncontrolled moderate and severe allergic asthma. The long-term real-life studies showed that it may result in an increase in thromboembolic events (TEs). This single-center study was planned to evaluate whether the use of omalizumab was related to the development of thromboembolism and change in peripheral blood thrombocyte counts.
METHODS: Adult patients with moderate and severe asthma treated with (study group) and without omalizumab (control group) for at least 12 months were evaluated retrospectively. Data for demographic and clinical characteristics, duration of omalizumab treatment, number of thrombocytes before and after omalizumab, and development of TE were examined and compared between the two groups.
RESULTS: A total of 168 patients, 73 were treated with omalizumab (13/73 male (17.8%), the mean age was 56.63±12.41 years), and 95 were treated without omalizumab (30/95 male (31.6%), the mean age was 50.71±16.34 years) were included in the study. The median (25–75th percentile) omalizumab treatment duration was 52 (36–78.5) months. None of the controls but two (2.7%) of the cases in the study group developed thromboembolism (p=0.187). The mean number of thrombocytes was similar before and after the treatment (276575.34±47869.59 vs. 294356.16±72351.26, p=0.087).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Although there were sporadic cases with TE following omalizumab treatment in the study, it was not related to a significantly increased thromboembolism risk.