Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria benefit from urticaria complete control

Published: December 5, 2022

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a common and distressing disease. The international urticaria guideline recommends aiming for a complete response to treatment, i.e. ‘treating the disease until it is gone’. However, limited real-world information exists on how different levels of disease activity and disease control impact quality of life and sleep impairment in patients with CSU.

In a study recently published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Kolkhir and colleagues report real-world data from the global Chronic Urticaria Registry (CURE) about associations between various CSU states and sleep impairment, health-related quality of life outcomes and compared different methods to assess CSU states. CURE data were collected at baseline and 6-monthly follow-ups. Urticaria control/activity and patients’ quality of life and sleep were assessed by using patient-reported outcome measures, i.e. the Urticaria Control Test (UCT), weekly Urticaria Activity Score (UAS7), Physician Global Assessment of treatment response, the Dermatology Life Quality Index and the Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire.

Out of 2078 patients included, 9.8% of patients had complete control of their urticaria at baseline (UCT=16). Patients with better control, i.e. higher UCT scores, had better sleep and quality of life. Presence of angioedema without wheals, episodic disease, omalizumab treatment, and male sex were associated with complete control of urticaria. Patient-reported UCT and UAS7 assessments demonstrated a more accurate measurement of CSU state versus physician assessments.

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice is an official journal of the AAAAI, focusing on practical information for the practicing clinician.

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