Materials and Methods
This retrospective study included children up to age 18 years, with the diagnosis of CSU, treated at the Allergy Unit of Meir Medical Center, Israel, 2002–2018. CSU was defined in accordance with Sahiner et al.2-4 Briefly, urticarial lesions appearing most days for at least 6 weeks, with or without accompanying angioedema.
Data for the entire cohort were retrieved from Clalit Health Services electronic record system. All medical records were reviewed by a specialist in allergy and clinical immunology from the date of CSU diagnosis to December 2018.
Data collected included: (a) Demographic parameters, (b) CSU duration, treatment, and relapses, (c) Laboratory tests, (d) Co-morbidities including asthma, allergic rhinitis, food allergy, atopic dermatitis, autoimmune thyroid diseases, celiac, SLE, diabetes mellitus, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and psychiatric disorders and (e) Chronic medications for other comorbidities.
Treatment modalities with antihistamines were defined as: Regular doses of antihistamines included 5 mg desloratadine daily or according to weight, 10 mg/day loratadine or according to weight, or 180 mg fexofenadine. High-dose antihistamines included up to 20 mg daily desloratadine or comparable dose of other antihistamine drugs.
Relapse was defined as a second episode of CSU with a gap of at least 6 months, without urticaria and without treatment for urticaria.
To analyze potential various age-related differences, patients were grouped according to age at CSU diagnosis: 0-3, 4-8, 9-12, and 13-18 years.
As CSU can be confused with AD, we analyzed the results with and without the patients diagnosed with both CSU and AD. Only data with significant differences are presented.
The study was approval by the Ethics Committee of Meir Medical Center.