Long-Term Follow-Up of Cluster-Based Diisocyanate Asthma Phenotypes

Abstract

Background: Data on the outcome of occupational asthma (OA) are heterogeneous.

Objective: To assess the impact of being part of a specific cluster at diagnosis on the long-term outcome of diisocyanate-induced OA.

Methods: We collected data from 56 patients who had a diagnosis of OA confirmed by a positive specific inhalation challenge. Patients sensitized to toluene diisocyanate were allocated to cluster 1 or 2 based on a tree analysis, using the 3 variables relevant for cluster segregation identified in a previous study: age, body mass index, and forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity at diagnosis. Patients sensitized to methylene diisocyanate were allocated to cluster 3, as in previous study. We defined OA remission when a patient had met a total of 3 criteria: no asthma symptoms and no antiasthma therapy for the last year, as well as having normal lung function.

Results: At follow-up, 16 patients showed OA remission. They exhibited better lung function, less bronchial hyperreactivity, as well as younger age at diagnosis. Twenty-eight patients were allocated to cluster 1, 10 to cluster 2, and 18 to cluster 3. The percentage of patients with OA remission was higher in cluster 2 (50% vs 25% in cluster 1 and 22.5% in cluster 3), although the difference was not statistically significant (P = .2789).

Conclusions: Age at diagnosis was a strong predictor of OA remission. The outcome of diisocyanate OA tended to be more favorable for patients with toluene diisocyanate OA allocated in cluster 2, but this finding needs to be validated by further data.

Keywords: Cluster analysis; Diisocyanates; Long-term follow-up; Occupational asthma prognosis; Outcome; Phenotypes.