[ASSESSMENT OF QOL BY URTICARIA ACTIVITY SCORE IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC URTICARIA].

BACKGROUND: There is no standard for assessing pediatric chronic urticaria in Japan. UAS7, weekly total values of the Urticaria Activity Score (UAS), has correlation with Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) which assesses Quality of Life (QOL). The current European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) guidelines recommend assessing disease activity in chronic urticaria by using UAS. We translated UAS into Japanese version, and evaluated usefulness of UAS by comparing with QOL score.

METHODS: Subjects were 42 patients who had received treatments in our clinic from February to September in 2014. They wrote UAS at home. They wrote Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) when they visited hospital. We assessed correlation UAS7 with CDLQI.

RESULTS: Male/Female ratio was 1:1. Median age was 7.5 years old. Duration of chronic urticaria was 5.5 months. Anti-histamine was used in 75%. UAS7 values reflected chronic urticaria patients' quality of life impairment. Change in UAS7 values reflected change in chronic urticaria patients' quality of life impairment.

CONCLUSION: UAS may be a useful tool for assessing QOL in pediatric patients with chronic urticaria.