Omalizumab for urticaria treatment in clinical practice: a case series.

INTRODUCTION: Omalizumab (Xolair) originally intended to reduce symptoms of moderate to severe asthma uncontrollable with steroids is the first monoclonal antibody approved for treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria in 2014.

AIM: To evaluate response and potential side effects to omalizumab treatment in clinical practice.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eleven patients (6 males and 5 females) were recruited into the study. All participants signed written informed consent before enrollment to the study. At the beginning they were receiving 300 mg of omalizumab in a subcutaneous injection every 4 weeks in an outpatient clinic. Five the clinical response was sufficient, the dose of omalizumab was decreased to 150 mg. We evaluated response to the treatment using the Urticaria Activity Score in the last 7 days and the Urticaria Control Test at certain time points.

RESULTS: Nine out of 11 patients achieved complete syndrome resolution. Five patients achieved clinical remission after the first dose of omalizumab. Mean time to remission was 9.3 weeks. During the study, no side effects were observed.

CONCLUSIONS: Omalizumab appears to be a safe drug, which in a quick and effective way inducts remission in patients who have not responded to previous treatment.