title: Acute infectious urticaria: clinical and laboratory analysis in nineteen patients.
abstract: We treated 19 Japanese patients with acute urticaria presumably caused by infection during the five years from 1994 to 1998. The patients' ages ranged from 2 to 66 years (8 males and 11 females). Most of them had urticaria, angioedema, high fever, neutrophilia, and high serum levels of C reactive protein (CRP). The skin rash lasted more than 24 hours. In four patients, a flow cytometric analysis revealed that the percentage of circulating T cells bearing T-cell receptor V beta 3 was decreased during the active stage and that this decrease was sustained for at least 2 to 3 weeks. This suggests that certain T-cell populations were numerically altered in association with the occurrence of the disease. A retrospective review indicated that the combination therapy with corticosteroid and antibiotics was more effective than the single use of either agent.
authors.affiliation: Shizuoka General Hospital, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oba
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokura
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takigawa
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000799:Angioedema / Q000382:microbiology; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005076:Exanthema / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000382:microbiology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007964:Leukocytosis / Q000382:microbiology; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000382:microbiology; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000032:analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017192:Skin Diseases, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D014581:Urticaria / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D006854:Hydrocortisone