Targeted management of severe asthma: Developing a Canadian approach

Figures & data

Figure 1. Frequency of exacerbation in patients in the previous year.

Figure 2. Physician-reported emergency room visits in the previous year. Sixty-five percent of patients had visited the emergency room at least once because of asthma in the previous year. ER, emergency room.

Figure 3. Physician-reported hospitalizations because of asthma in the previous year. In total, 12.5% of patients in the practice assessment required admission to the intensive care unit. ICU, intensive care unit.

Figure 4. Bursts of oral corticosteroids in patients with severe asthma. A) Number of bursts prescribed in the previous year. B) Duration of bursts in patients treated with oral corticosteroids. OCS, oral corticosteroids.

Table 1. Canadian provincial formulary listing of biologic agents approved for the treatment of severe asthma as of October 2018.^a

Province	Omalizumab	Mepolizumab	Reslizumab	Benralizumab
Newfoundland	CIU only	No	No	No
PEI	No	No	No	No
Nova Scotia	CIU only	No	No	No
New Brunswick	CIU only	Yes	No	No
Quebec	CIU only	Yes	No	No
Ontario	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Manitoba	No	No	No	No
Saskatchewan	CIU only	Yes	No	No
Alberta	Yes	Yes	No	No
British Columbia	No	No	No	No
Nunavut	CIU only	Yes	No	No
Yukon	CIU only	No	No	No
Northwest Territories	No	No	No	No

Abbreviation: CIU, chronic idiopathic urticaria.

^aIn all provinces with agents listed in the formulary, they are available through special authorization or access programs only.