SABINA programme demonstrates SABA reliever overuse is a global issue in asthma management

SABINA programme demonstrates SABA reliever overuse is a global issue in asthma management   

Real-world evidence analysis of SABA use in over 1 million patients with asthma consistently showed three or more SABA inhalers a year was associated with increased risk of severe asthma exacerbations   

40% of asthma patients were overusing SABA reliever inhalers  

New data reinforce GINA recommendations and national guideline changes which no longer recommend SABA as the preferred reliever  

New results from the largest real-world observational data analysis of asthma inhaler therapy found that short-acting beta2-agonist (SABA) reliever overuse is a global issue adversely impacting asthma outcomes.^1,2 Data from across the SABA Use IN Asthma (SABINA) global programme have been published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice (JACI: In Practice) and the European Respiratory Journal (ERJ).  

The multi-country analyses of over 1 million patients with asthma showed use of three or more SABA inhalers per year was associated with an increased risk of severe exacerbations^1,2 and a lower likelihood of controlled asthma.² The findings were consistent regardless of country and asthma severity, and the risk of exacerbation was independent of maintenance therapy containing inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), further highlighting the need for continued efforts to improve asthma management.^1,2  

SABINA data from Europe and North America published in JACI: In Practice, found that approximately 40% of patients across all asthma severities were prescribed or received three or more SABA inhalers per year.¹ This was associated with a 32% increase in risk of severe asthma exacerbations compared to patients receiving one or two inhalers per year, independent of ICS-containing medications used.¹   

Jennifer Quint, Professor of Respiratory Epidemiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, Honorary Consultant in Respiratory Medicine based at The Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK and lead author of the JACI: In Practice publication, said: “As the largest analysis of clinical outcomes related to the use of reliever and maintenance therapies to date, the SABINA findings reveal that high use of SABA relievers is a common issue in many countries and is associated with a greater risk of severe asthma attacks in patients around the world. These data reinforce the urgent need to adopt treatment paradigms that improve asthma management, including those from the Global Initiative for Asthma, which no longer recommend SABA as the preferred reliever therapy across all asthma severities.”   

SABINA data from 24 countries across five continents, published in the ERJ, demonstrated that 38% of patients were prescribed three or more SABA relievers a year.² This was associated with an increasing rate of severe exacerbations and a lower likelihood of satisfactory symptom control. Patients prescribed three to five SABA relievers a year had 40% more severe exacerbations compared to patients receiving one or two inhalers per year. This rose further with increasing numbers of SABA prescriptions.²  

Eric D. Bateman, Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa and lead author of the ERJ publication, said: "The SABINA programme shows that the overuse of SABA is a global problem of considerable magnitude, associated with negative outcomes of asthma treatment. It brings into focus the need for renewed efforts to reduce over-reliance on SABAs and the adoption of treatment strategies that provide both quick symptom relief and an anti-inflammatory effect.”  

Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, said: “Results from SABINA across diverse patient populations and healthcare systems add to the body of evidence demonstrating SABA overuse is associated with an increased risk of exacerbations in patients with asthma. With more than 176 million asthma attacks experienced globally each year, there is a clear need for asthma management that addresses the inflammatory nature of the disease and reduces exacerbation risk to improve outcomes for patients.”  

References  

1. Quint JK, et al.; on behalf of SABINA European and North American Study contributors. Short-acting β2-agonist exposure and severe asthma exacerbations: SABINA findings from Europe and North America. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2022.02.047. Epub ahead of print. 
2. Bateman ED, et al. Short-acting β2-agonist prescriptions are associated with poor clinical outcomes of asthma: the multi-country, cross-sectional SABINA III study. Eur Respir J 2021; Sep 24:2101402. doi: 10.1183/13993003.01402-2021. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34561293. 
3. The Global Asthma Network. The Global Asthma Report 2018. [Online]. Available at: http://www.globalasthmanetwork.org/. [Last accessed: March 2022].
4. Global Initiative for Asthma. 2021 GINA Report, Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention. [Online]. Available at: https://ginasthma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GINA-2021-Main-Report_FINAL_21_04_28-WMS.pdf  [Last accessed: March 2022].
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Cabrera CS, et al. SABINA: global programme to evaluate prescriptions and clinical outcomes related to short-acting β2-agonist use in asthma. Eur Respir J. 2020; 55 (2): 1901858.