title: Ice cube test in children with cold urticaria.
abstract: The ice cube test performed in 24 children (6 cold urticaria, 6 healthy, 6 allergic and 6 chronic urticaria) showed that a 3 and 5-minute ice cube test was the appropriate time for the diagnosis of cold urticaria without false positive results. If the test was prolonged to 10 and 20 minutes, 17% and 33% respectively showed false positive results in chronic urticaria other than cold urticaria patients. After four weeks of cyproheptadine therapy, the ice cube test showed only 17% positive at 3 minutes and 33% at 5 minutes. When the ice cube test was performed for 10 and 20 minutes, 67% showed positive results. In conclusion, the ice cube test should be performed for 3 to 5 minutes to diagnose cold urticaria in children. The time should be increased to 10 or 20 minutes if the test shows negative results at 3 to 5 minutes after antihistamine therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Visitsuntorn
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tuchinda
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arunyanark
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kerdsomnuk
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003080:Cold Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003533:Cyproheptadine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007053:Ice; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000379:methods*; D014581:Urticaria / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D007053:Ice; D003533:Cyproheptadine