Korean J Dermatol.
2015 Feb;53(2):119-126.
Clinical Predictors of Disease Progression in New-Onset Urticaria
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Dermatology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. jylee@ catholic.ac.kr
Abstract
- BACKGROUND
Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is considered a different disease entity from acute urticaria in relation to its pathogenesis, despite both disease types having similar clinical manifestations that include wheals, flares, and angioedema.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to identify the clinical factors that might predict the disease course of new-onset urticaria, determine whether the disease will be limited to an acute course or if it will progress to a chronic course, and to estimate the chronic progression rate in relation to the presence of each clinical factor and laboratory abnormality.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 348 patients with new-onset urticaria. Of these, 141 patients had progressed to chronic disease and 207 patients showed a limited to acute course with disease durations of less than 6 weeks. We compared the progressed to chronic and limited to acute disease groups in relation to differences in their clinical presentations and severities, and the laboratory data.
RESULTS
The overall chronic progression rate of new-onset urticaria was 40.5%. The chronic progression rate was highest in patients aged 30~39 years (52.3%), in patients prescribed antihistamines (52.9%), and when the cause of urticaria was unknown (51.8%). The laboratory test results did not differ significantly between the study groups.
CONCLUSION
Patients with new-onset urticaria are likely to have chronic courses when they are aged 30~39 years, when they have mild clinical symptoms initially, and when the cause of urticaria is difficult to identify.
