Efficacy and safety of treatment with biologicals for severe chronic
rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps: A systematic review for the EAACI
Guidelines
Abstract
This systematic review evaluates the efficacy and safety of biologicals
for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) compared to the
standard of care. Pubmed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library were searched for
RCTs. Critical and important CRSwNP-related outcomes were considered.
The risk of bias and the certainty of the evidence were assessed using
GRADE. RCTs evaluated (dupilumab-2, omalizumab-4, mepolizumab-2,
reslizumab-1) included 1236 adults, with follow-up 20-64 weeks.
Dupilumab reduces the need for surgery (NFS) and oral corticosteroid
(OCS) use (RR 0.28; 95%CI 0.20-0.39, moderate certainty) and improves
with high certainty smell (mean difference (MD) +10.54; 95%CI +9.24 to
+11.84) and quality of life (QoL) (MD -19.14; 95%CI -22.80 to -15.47),
with fewer treatment-related adverse events (TAEs) (RR 0.95; 95%CI
0.89-1.02, moderate certainty). Omalizumab reduces NFS (RR 0.85; 95%CI
0.78 to 0.92, high certainty), decreases OCS use (RR 0.38; 95%CI
0.10-1.38, moderate certainty), improves with high certainty smell (MD
+3.84; 95%CI +3.64 to +4.04) and QoL (MD -15.65; 95%CI -16.16 to
-15.13), with increased TAE (RR 1.73; 95%CI 0.60-5.03, moderate
certainty). There is low certainty for mepolizumab reducing NFS (RR
0.78; 95%CI 0.64 to 0.94) and improving QoL (MD -13.3; 95% CI -23.93
to -2.67) and smell (MD +0.7; 95%CI -0.48 to +1.88), with increased
TAEs (RR 1.64; 95%CI 0.41-6.50). The evidence for reslizumab is very
uncertain.