• Patrick Lefebvre, Mei Sheng Duh, Marie-Hélène Lafeuille, Laurence Gozalo, Urvi Desai, Marie-Noëlle Robitaille, Frank Albers, Steve Yancey, Hector Ortega, Mark Forshag, Xiwu Lin, and Anand A Dalal.
• a Groupe d'analyse , Ltée Montréal , Québec , Canada.
• Curr Med Res Opin. 2017 Jan 1; 33 (1): 57-65.

ObjectivesAlthough systemic glucocorticoids (SGCs) are efficacious, their chronic use is associated with a range of complications. Yet limited data are available about the risks following chronic use in patients with severe asthma, who are at risk of long-term SGC-related complications. This study was carried out to investigate the risks of developing SGC-related complications, and to quantify the associated healthcare resource utilization and costs for patients with severe asthma in the United States.MethodsThis was a longitudinal, open-cohort, observational study. Medicaid claims data (1997-2013) for patients ≥12 years old with ≥2 asthma diagnoses were used. A total of 26,987 SGC non-users were identified for inclusion in the study, alongside 3628 SGC users with ≥6 months' continuous SGC use.ResultsMultivariate generalized estimating equation models were used to estimate the adjusted risk of developing SGC-related complications, and to quantify the associated healthcare resource utilization and costs. This analysis compared SGC users with SGC non-users, and found that SGC users had an increased likelihood of developing complications. A significant dose-response relationship was demonstrated between chronic SGC use and risk of developing any complications (odds ratios for low, medium, and high SGC exposure were 2.03 [p = .0511], 2.85 [p < .0001], and 3.64 [p < .0001], respectively, vs. SGC non-users). The increased likelihood of SGC-related complications translated into estimated annual healthcare costs for SGC users of $2712 to $8560 above those of SGC non-users. A key limitation of this study is the disparity in age between the SGC users and the SGC non-users; however, age was included as a confounding factor in the analysis.ConclusionsThese findings confirm the risk associated with chronic use of SGCs, irrespective of dose level, and highlight the need for new SGC-sparing treatment strategies for patients with severe asthma.

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