Many Primary Care Physicians Are Unfamiliar With Biologic Therapy for Uncontrolled Asthma

Results from a survey presented at the 2023 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting showed that nearly half of the primary care clinicians (PCPs) who completed the survey were unfamiliar with asthma biologics.

The researchers designed the survey using the Research Electronic Data Capture tool, and it was distributed via email to primary care attending and resident physicians across the departments of internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics. The collected responses were then subjected to statistical analysis using Chi-square tests.

The researchers were able to obtain responses from a total of 85 PCPs. Of those who responded, 77% indicated they would refer patients to a specialist only after experiencing 2 or more exacerbations per year, emphasizing a potential delay in seeking specialized care.

Furthermore, 42% of PCPs admitted to being unfamiliar with biologic therapies for asthma, 82% reported not routinely obtaining laboratory work in asthma management, and 90% did not utilize absolute eosinophil count as a guide for treatment decisions.

The analysis demonstrated that the proportion of PCPs unfamiliar with biologics did not significantly vary based on the number of asthma patients seen per month (P=.185). Similarly, the frequency of PCP referrals to specialists did not influence their familiarity with biologics (P=.260) or eligibility criteria (P=.393).

However, PCPs who saw asthma patients more frequently and those who referred patients to specialists were more likely to incorporate lab work into their asthma management strategies (P=.020 and P=.029, respectively).

“PCP education could increase access to biologic therapy and thus decrease asthma exacerbations in the [United States],” the researchers concluded.