Treatment Patterns and Disease Burden Associated with Multiple-Inhaler Triple-Therapy Use in Asthma

Abstract

Background: Addition of a long-acting muscarinic antagonist is recommended for patients with asthma uncontrolled on inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β₂-agonist therapy. This is the first large-scale, real-world study examining multiple-inhaler triple-therapy (MITT) use in asthma.

Objective: To describe real-world prevalence, outcomes, and treatment patterns associated with MITT.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used medical and pharmacy claims from the Optum Research Database. Patients were diagnosed with asthma between January 01, 2013, and July 31, 2018, with evidence of MITT use (≥1 overlapping days' supply of inhaled corticosteroid, long-acting β₂-agonist, and long-acting muscarinic antagonist). Annual MITT prevalence (primary end point) was assessed in the prevalent population; eligible patients were 18 years or older with 2 or more asthma diagnoses during the study period, and continuous enrollment for the entire year. Secondary outcomes (adherence [proportion of days covered], MITT persistence, health care resource utilization, costs) were assessed in the incident MITT population; eligible patients were 18 years or older, with 2 or more asthma diagnoses and continuous enrollment during both the 12-month baseline and 12-month follow-up periods. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cystic fibrosis were excluded.

Results: MITT prevalence was low but increased from 0.35% (95% CI, 0.32-0.37) in 2014/2015 to 1.00% (95% CI, 0.96-1.04) in 2017/2018. Among 1831 incident MITT users, there was a substantial disease burden, demonstrated by high health care resource utilization and exacerbation rates. Adherence and persistence to MITT was low (mean proportion of days covered, 0.31 ± 0.27), and 12% (n = 216) remained on MITT 12 months postinitiation.

Conclusions: Overall, MITT use among patients with asthma is low. Patients initiating MITT have substantial disease burden and significant unmet needs.

Keywords: Asthma; Claims database; Disease burden; Medication adherence; Multiple-inhaler; Real-world data; Treatment patterns; Triple therapy.