Airsonett AIR4 a cost-effective, drug-free alternative for patients with severe allergic asthma

An economic analysis, published today in published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research finds Airsonett AIR4 to be a cost-effective addition to treatment options in patients with uncontrolled severe allergic asthma. For high-risk individuals with more severe and less well controlled asthma the use of Airsonett AIR4 to reduce incidence of hospitalisation would be a cost saving to the NHS.

Continuous allergen exposure is a major risk factor of frequent symptoms and exacerbations for patients with allergic asthma. Airsonett AIR4 is a non-pharmacological treatment that uses the unique, patented Temperature controlled Laminar Airflow (TLA) technology to significantly reduce allergens and other airborne irritants from the patient’s breathing zone during night. It has been shown that TLA treatment significantly can reduce allergen exposure and airway inflammation leading to a significantly improved health-related quality of life in patients suffering from poorly controlled severe allergic asthma.

A recently published clinical trial by Professor Uwe Schauer et al. showed that TLA treatment may improve asthma control and reduce exacerbations, emergency room visits and hospitalisations. In the current study, Professor John O Warner and his team used the health service utilisation reported by Schauer et al and English health service costs to quantify the cost-effectiveness of using TLA as an add-on to standard asthma management drug therapy in the UK. The analysis, described in detail in the paper published today in BMJ Open Respiratory Research, conclude that TLA is a cost-effective treatment. For high-risk individuals with more severe and less well controlled asthma the avoidance of two hospital admissions (via A&E or general admission) or one ICU admission per year would result in TLA treatment being cost saving to the NHS.

The current study demonstrates the value of using TLA treatment to prevent exacerbations from the perspective of both the wellbeing of the patient and the economic advantage to the NHS. For patients with uncontrolled severe allergic asthma TLA is a drug-free alternative that may complement or obviate the need for use of expensive and/or potent drug therapies that are associated with a greater risk of side effects, says Professor John O Warner, Professor of Paediatrics, Imperial College London

For the patient cohort as a whole the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated to £8,998 per QALY gained i.e. within the £20,000/QALY cost-effectiveness benchmark used by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The sensitivity analysis performed indicates that ICER values range from £15,829/QALY for the least severe patients through to TLA treatment being dominant i.e. cost saving as well as improving quality-of-life, for individuals with the most severe and poorly controlled asthma.

We are very pleased with the results that will be very valuable in our discussions with NHS and health care organisations within and outside the UK, says Fredrik Werner, CEO, Airsonett AB.