Omalizumab effective for chronic spontaneous urticaria

(HealthDay)—Omalizumab, alone or in combination with a short-term course of corticosteroids, is highly effective for the treatment of refractory chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), according to a study published online Feb. 5 in the International Journal of Dermatology.

Nikolaos Syrigos, M.D., from Sotiria General Hospital in Athens, Greece, and colleagues retrospectively evaluated medical records from 20 patients (mean age 54.5 years; 75 percent women) with refractory CSU in order to assess correlations between demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics and omalizumab treatment outcomes.

The researchers found that mean disease duration before omalizumab administration was 21.8 months. All patients responded favorably to omalizumab after one to five doses, with 85 percent of patients having a complete response. The remaining three patients had well-controlled disease after omalizumab treatment. In 30 percent of patients, the best response to omalizumab was achieved after interval administration of a nine-day course of methylprednisolone (total dose of 188 mg). A shorter disease duration before initiation of omalizumab was significantly correlated with late response to omalizumab (after three-month treatment).

"In the present series, omalizumab, either alone or in combination with a short-term course of corticosteroids, was highly effective in resolution of refractory CSU," the authors write.

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