The ratio of total IgE level at week 16 to baseline significantly correlated with the clinical response to omalizumab in moderate to severe allergic rhinitis patients.

Objective: To analyze whether the ratio of total IgE level at week 16 to baseline could be used as an indicator to evaluate clinical efficacy of patients treated with omalizumab.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics of 62 patients with moderate-to-severe allergic rhinitis treated with omalizumab, and compared the pre-and post-treatment nasal visual analog scale (n-VAS) scores, the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ), Rhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT), improvement in nasal congestion, number of acute episodes of rhinitis, and total IgE levels in serum. The relationship between the efficacy of treatment with omalizumab and the change in total IgE levels before and after treatment was further analyzed.

Results: This study included 62 patients with moderate-to-severe allergic rhinitis, of which 48 demonstrated significant improvement after 16 weeks of omalizumab therapy; the results of 16 weeks' omalizumab treatment in 14 patients did not show significant improvements in allergic rhinitis symptoms based on RACT scores. After 16 weeks of omalizumab treatment, the RQLQ score decreased from (36.6 ± 13.7) at baseline level to (9.1 ± 12.6) after 16 weeks treatment.The ratio of total IgE at week 16 to total IgE levels at baseline was (2.9 ± 1.4) KU/L in 62 patients. And the ratio of total IgE levels at week 16 to total IgE levels at baseline was (3.3 ± 1.4) KU/L for responders and (1.6 ± 0.5) KU/L for non-responders.

Conclusion: The ratio of total IgE level at week 16 to baseline significantly correlated with the clinical response to omalizumab in moderate to severe allergic rhinitis patients, when the ratio of total IgE level at week 16 to baseline was ≥2.0. Omalizumab effectively treated patients with moderate-to-severe allergic rhinitis, and improved their quality of life.