Struggling patients suffering from severe asthma are to receive a life-changing new treatment at home - thanks to Newcastle medics.
The drug, mepolizumab, which usually has to be administered by a healthcare professional to patients every four weeks, is now being offered by clinicians at the Freeman Hospital to patients to administer at home through a pre-filled pen or syringe.
Mepolizumab is used to treat asthma in patients with eosinophilic asthma, a rare type of asthma which is commonly seen in people who develop asthma in adulthood, although it can occur in children.
And 55 year-old Sharon Cowey, from Newcastle, a retired Ward Sister, is one of the first patients to receive this treatment at home.
It was at 26 that Sharon was diagnosed with asthma shortly after getting pregnant with her daughter.
She said: “I remember taking my daughter out in her pram and having to stop at every lamppost as I couldn’t get my breath. I visited the GP and I was prescribed Prednisolone, a strong steroid, and referred to the hospital. This improved my symptoms, but my asthma was never well controlled.”
Over the years that passed, Sharon was prescribed a number of different medications alongside the steroid to try and gain control of her asthma, until she was diagnosed eosinophilic asthma - a form of severe asthma - at aged 53.
“It was only recently I was diagnosed with severe asthma after having a blood test, which indicated that my eosinophils level, a type of white blood cell, was high,” she added.
Sharon started treatment on mepolizumab, which greatly improved her asthma and enabled her to carry out activities she was unable to do before, like walking the dog and breathing freely, but this treatment had to be administered by a healthcare professional in a hospital every month.
After working in collaboration with healthcare professionals, she is now able to administer the treatment for her asthma at home, without having to go into hospital.
“The months used to come around so quickly, so sometimes I would have to cancel plans so I could go to the hospital to receive my treatment. I am able to inject myself at home, with a pen injection like an insulin pen,” she added
“I can’t thank the nurses enough, without them it wouldn’t have happened.”
John Davison, Senior Nurse Specialist for complex lung disease at The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to be the first Trust in the UK to provide patients with this treatment in the comfort of their own home.
“Severe asthma patients often struggle to manage everyday activities, and frequent visits to a healthcare professional in hospital can be an added burden for them.
“This innovation will empower healthcare professionals and patients with greater flexibility to choose a treatment setting that best fits patients’ needs.”
Eosinophilic asthma is caused by a type of white blood cell, and the drug is used to reduce the number of these cells to control the inflammation in the lungs.
Of the 5.4 million people with asthma in UK, roughly 250,000 adults and children - have severe asthma.
