Background
In Austria, the prevalence of asthma in the adult population is 4.4%, but very limited epidemiological data are available on the prevalence of severe asthma. Based on prescription data the prevalence of severe asthma in the adult population is 0.027%, a quite low value compared to other studies

Aim
To investigate if the prevalence of severe asthma is either overestimated or undiagnosed in Austria.

Methods
This non-interventional, observational, uncontrolled, cross-sectional survey was conducted in different asthma centres in Austria. The primary objective was to investigate the prevalence of difficult-to-treat and severe asthma eligible for treatment with biologics in a cohort of patients with so far undiagnosed, severe asthma, which were previously treated by general practitioners and office-based pulmonologists. Secondary objectives included the characterization of the patients, laboratory data, lung function parameters, and comorbidities.

Results
In total 174 patients with uncontrolled asthma were included in the data set among them 71 (40.8%, 62% females) were diagnosed with severe uncontrolled asthma, eligible for a treatment with biologics according to ATS/ERS criteria. 103 (59,2%) of the patients had difficult-to-treat asthma. Among the comorbidities atopic diseases (81%), including allergies, and polyposis nasi (62%) were most frequently reported.

Conclusion
There is evidence that severe asthma is underdiagnosed in Austria as more then 40% of patients in the UNCOVER study treated by general practitioners and office-based pulmonologists with uncontrolled asthma were eligible for biologics. There is need to improve the awareness and care of patients with severe asthma in Austria.