Original Articles: Systemic Allergic DisordersThe Urticaria Severity Score: a sensitive questionnaire/index for monitoring response to therapy in patients with chronic urticaria
Section snippets
INTRODUCTION
Urticaria is a common skin condition, which is estimated to afflict 10% to 20% of the US population at some time in their life.1, 2 Chronic urticaria refers to the daily or almost daily presence of itchy wheals for at least 6 weeks.1 Chronic urticaria has been shown to have a significant impact on patients’ quality of life (QOL), including sleep disturbances, social isolation, altered emotions, and difficulties with activities of daily living.3, 4 The disability and reduced QOL in untreated
Participants and Background
Institutional review board approval was obtained from the Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, institutional review board. Study participants were men or women 18 years or older who were willing to grant informed consent. These individuals were recruited from the outpatient clinical services of the Division of Allergy/Immunology of the Albert Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center with inclusion criteria as follows: aged 18 years or older and diagnosed as having chronic urticaria, which was
Sample Characteristics
The main patient sample included 80 patients (21 men and 59 women) whose mean (SD) age was 42.8 (16.2) years; their mean (SD) urticaria duration was 4.22 (6.76) years (data not shown). All patients who were approached agreed to participate, and all forms were fully completed.
Correlation Between the USS and the Previously Validated DLQI
Among our 80-patient sample, the USS and DLQI were administered at baseline and follow-up. The mean (SD) time to follow-up was 1.80 (6.76) weeks (range, 1-4 weeks). The mean (SD) USS scores were 35.4 (13.9) (range, 8-78) at
DISCUSSION
The QOL measures play key roles within the realms of direct patient care, clinical research, and health-related economics.14 The QOL assessments may be used to evaluate treatment effectiveness and can also be applied to routinely monitor patients with a particular disease state. The QOL scores may also serve as patient-centered outcome measures in the setting of a research trial. Along these lines, QOL outcomes can highlight the disability from a given disease and guide appropriate resource
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Cited by (33)
Association of basophil parameters with disease severity and duration in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU)
2020, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In PracticeChronic Idiopathic Urticaria: Systemic Complaints and Their Relationship with Disease and Immune Measures
2017, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In PracticeCitation Excerpt :It included the number of systemic corticosteroid tapers, visits to the emergency department, days absent from work or school, and medication use. The fourth domain contained elements of the urticaria severity score, a validated tool for monitoring urticaria severity.9,10 The elements in the survey included number of wheals present at the time of survey, current itch score, and duration of individual wheals.
Cross-cultural adaptation of the urticaria control test from German to Castilian Spanish
2015, Actas Dermo-SifiliograficasBeneficial role for supplemental vitamin D<inf>3</inf> treatment in chronic urticaria: A randomized study
2014, Annals of Allergy, Asthma and ImmunologyCitation Excerpt :These randomized clinical study findings of a beneficial response with vitamin D support observations by others that vitamin D supplementation alleviates symptoms of CU in patients with low vitamin D levels.14,24 Because of the long half-life of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), the 12-week study duration was designed to allow time for the appropriate attainment of a steady-state 25(OH)D while using recommended safe dosing regimens10,15,19,22 that are readily available to the public. This design led to significant increases in serum 25(OH)D levels in the high vitamin D3 treatment group by week 12 (Fig 1).
Effectiveness and safety of Omalizumab in the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria: Systematic review and meta-analysis
2019, Allergologia et ImmunopathologiaCitation Excerpt :The primary adverse events were mild and included gastrointestinal manifestations, headache, the reaction at the application site, and skin changes. The quality of life of patients with urticaria or dermatological disease has been evaluated by several instruments: Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DQLI) (1011), Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI),26 Dermatology Quality Of Life Scales (DQOLS),27 Dermatology-Specific Quality of Life (DSQL),28 Skindex-29,29 Skindex-16,30 Chronic Urticaria and Quality of Life Questionnaire (CU-Q2oL),31 Urticaria Severity Score (USS),32 among others.33 This fact makes it difficult to compare results obtained by studies using different instruments in the evaluation of the quality of life.
Effects of the immunoglobulin/histamine complex on panic disorder concurrent with chronic spontaneous urticaria: a case report
2023, Journal of Medical Case Reports
Disclosures: Authors have nothing to disclose.