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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Allergy
Sec. Skin Allergy
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1487831

Key Differences Between Chronic Inducible and Spontaneous Urticaria

Provisionally accepted
Mojca Bizjak Mojca Bizjak 1,2*Mitja Košnik Mitja Košnik 1,3
  • 1 University Clinic of Pulmonary and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Golnik, Slovenia
  • 2 Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
  • 3 Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The latest international EAACI/GA²LEN/EuroGuiDerm/APAAACI guideline for urticaria recommends limited laboratory testing for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and selective testing for only certain chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU) subtypes, though the rationale for these recommendations is poorly explained. This study aimed to improve the understanding of CIndU subtypes by comprehensively comparing their demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics with those of the better-characterized CSU. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 567 patients (median age 41 years, 67% female) diagnosed with CSU, symptomatic dermographism (SD), cold urticaria (ColdU), cholinergic urticaria (CholU), and delayed pressure urticaria (DPU). Our findings revealed that patients with SD, ColdU, and CholU had lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), higher total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, and higher basophil counts compared to CSU patients. These subtypes also had distinct demographic and clinical features, such as a younger age of onset and a longer disease duration. In contrast, patients with DPU had significantly higher CRP levels and neutrophil counts compared to those with CSU. These findings highlight the heterogeneity among chronic urticaria subtypes, suggesting that a tailored approach to laboratory testing may be more effective. The distinct immunological and clinical features observed in CIndU subtypes suggest a need for subtype-specific diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines.

    Keywords: Blood Cell Count, C-Reactive Protein, Chronic inducible urticaria, chronic spontaneous urticaria, Immunoglobulin E

    Received: 28 Aug 2024; Accepted: 04 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Bizjak and Košnik. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mojca Bizjak, University Clinic of Pulmonary and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Golnik, Slovenia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.