Safety and efficacy of omalizumab for antihistamine-resistant chronic urticaria in children: a case series and literature review

Excerpt

Chronic urticaria (CU) is a common skin disease characterized by the occurrence of wheals, with or without angioedema, lasting more than 6 weeks. The prevalence of CU is about 0.7% [1], but higher in children, with an incidence of 1.38% [1]. The occurrence of severe pruritus and unpredictable wheals may severely impact patients’ quality of life, cause psychological problems, including sleep disorders and depression, and lead to economic burden due to limitation on daily life and work [2, 3]. A standard-dose, second-generation H₁-antihistamine (sgAHs) is the first-line therapy for patients with CU [4]. However, more than one-third of CU patients are insufficiently responsive to H₁-antihistamines, even with a dosage four times the standard dose (second line; off-label) [4, 5]. Therefore, add-on treatment should be considered. …