A REAL-WORLD ANALYSIS OF PATIENTS WITH SEVERE ASTHMA AND IMPACT OF BIOLOGICS USE IN MALAYSIA...
Author(s)
Shaun W. Lee, PhD1, Mat Zuki, MD2, Irfhan Ali, MD3, Hema Yamini, MD4, Arvindran Alaga, MD5, Azlina Samsudin, MD6.
1Lecturer, Monash University, Subang, Malaysia, 2Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kota Bahru, Malaysia, 3Hospital Pulau Pinang, Penang, Malaysia, 4Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, 5Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Setar, Malaysia, 6Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Kuala Trengganu, Malaysia.
1Lecturer, Monash University, Subang, Malaysia, 2Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kota Bahru, Malaysia, 3Hospital Pulau Pinang, Penang, Malaysia, 4Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, 5Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Setar, Malaysia, 6Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Kuala Trengganu, Malaysia.
OBJECTIVES: This study aims to quantify the healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) burden among patients with severe asthma and evaluate the real-world impact of biologic therapy.
METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of adults with confirmed asthma from five tertiary respiratory centres in Malaysia. Patients were stratified by clinical severity and Global Initiative for Asthma treatment steps. Healthcare resource utilisation including hospital admissions, accident and emergency (A&E) visits, and outpatient visits were annualised over a 5-year period (2020-2024). Generalised linear models assessed economic predictors of high healthcare costs.
RESULTS: Severe refractory asthma patients demonstrated substantially elevated HCRU compared to non-severe patients, with 77% lower hospital admission rates, 65% lower A&E utilisation and 76% lower outpatient visits observed in non-severe patients. After adjusting for disease severity and demographic factors, biologic therapy was independently associated with significant reductions in hospital admissions and A&E visits. Economic modelling predicted annual costs of RM7,820 for severe refractory asthma versus RM2,274 for non-severe disease, representing a three-fold cost differential driven predominantly by acute care episodes.
CONCLUSIONS: Severe refractory asthma imposes a substantial and quantifiable healthcare burden concentrated in acute, unscheduled care. Biologic therapies demonstrate meaningful real-world reductions in emergency healthcare utilisation, effectively shifting resource consumption from costly acute episodes to planned outpatient management.
METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of adults with confirmed asthma from five tertiary respiratory centres in Malaysia. Patients were stratified by clinical severity and Global Initiative for Asthma treatment steps. Healthcare resource utilisation including hospital admissions, accident and emergency (A&E) visits, and outpatient visits were annualised over a 5-year period (2020-2024). Generalised linear models assessed economic predictors of high healthcare costs.
RESULTS: Severe refractory asthma patients demonstrated substantially elevated HCRU compared to non-severe patients, with 77% lower hospital admission rates, 65% lower A&E utilisation and 76% lower outpatient visits observed in non-severe patients. After adjusting for disease severity and demographic factors, biologic therapy was independently associated with significant reductions in hospital admissions and A&E visits. Economic modelling predicted annual costs of RM7,820 for severe refractory asthma versus RM2,274 for non-severe disease, representing a three-fold cost differential driven predominantly by acute care episodes.
CONCLUSIONS: Severe refractory asthma imposes a substantial and quantifiable healthcare burden concentrated in acute, unscheduled care. Biologic therapies demonstrate meaningful real-world reductions in emergency healthcare utilisation, effectively shifting resource consumption from costly acute episodes to planned outpatient management.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-09, ISPOR Asia Pacific 2026, Bangkok, Thailand
Value in Health, Volume 55, Issue S1
Code
RWD5
Topic
Real World Data & Information Systems
Disease
SDC: Respiratory-Related Disorders (Allergy, Asthma, Smoking, Other Respiratory)