Page 159 - Comprehensive treatment of patients with glucocorticoid-dependent severe asthma

“Comprehensive treatment of patients with glucocorticoid-dependent severe asthma”
Rationale of this thesis
The last decade has been remarkable with respect to the development of new drugs [1-4] and interventions [5] for the treatment of asthma. Nevertheless, the incidence of asthma is increasing in most countries and so is the burden of the disease [6].
Patients with glucocorticoid-dependent severe asthma are particularly vulnerable because of the complex interaction between disease activity and adverse-effects associated with the chronic use of systemic steroids [7-9]. Despite the relatively small number of patients with glucocorticoid- dependent asthma, the high health care consumption resulting from repeated exacerbations and treatment of co-morbidities leads to extra costs for society [10;11]. Moreover, patients with glucocorticoid-dependent asthma suffer from an extremely impaired quality of life with potentially life threatening events [12;13].
This thesis was driven by clinical challenges that have long been recognized [14;15] and are still relevant. Despite representing a global issue, there are no international guidelines dedicated to the management of patients with glucocorticoid-dependent asthma. There is also no consensus about the most effective way of tapering down the dose of systemic steroids and neither an exclusive protocol helping the professionals to institute a comprehensive management tailored to the individual patient.
Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to investigate distinct features related to patients with glucocorticoid-dependent severe asthma and propose solutions for the outstanding problems.
Summary and general discussion
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