Clinical characteristics and epidemiology of chronic urticaria: a nationwide, multicentre study on 1091 patients.

INTRODUCTION: Urticaria is one of the most common skin diseases. Depending on the length of symptoms, acute (lasting less than 6 weeks) and chronic urticaria (CU) (> 6 weeks) are distinguished. According to the current European guidelines, CU is divided into inducible urticaria (IU) and chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU).

AIM: To assess the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of CU in Poland.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a nationwide, multicentre, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study performed under the auspices of the Polish Dermatological Society. A total of 102 physicians (dermatologists and allergists) recruited 1091 patients suffering from CU.

RESULTS: Among 1091 adults with CU, IU was found in 35.1% ( n = 383) of patients and CSU was responsible for 61.1% ( n = 667) of CU cases. The remaining patients ( n = 41, 3.8%) suffered from both, IU and CSU. Persons with CSU were twice more likely to report family history of urticaria than those with IU (12.1% vs. 6.0%, p = 0.001). Generalized eruptions of wheals predominated in CSU (generalized wheals: 57.9%, localized wheals: 42.1%), whereas wheals localized in particular body areas were found more commonly in IU (generalized wheals: 45.2%, localized wheals: 54.8%, p < 0.001). The CU was the cause of absenteeism in almost every fifth patient suffering from this disease.

CONCLUSIONS: The CSU is about twice as frequent cause of CU as compared to IU. The treatment of CU is a major challenge for physicians of various specialties and the treatment choice is closely associated with the specialist knowledge of current treatment guidelines.