Cyclosporine-A in severe chronic urticaria: the option for long-term therapy.
BACKGROUND
The treatment of severe chronic urticaria (CU) remains a difficult goal to achieve. Many patients do not respond to anti-histamine therapy, even when off-label doses are given. Thus, cyclosporine-A (CsA) becomes a good therapeutic option for severe patients and for some, long-term therapy is required. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of low-dose CsA, when treatment cannot be discontinued and long-term CsA therapy is needed to maintain severe CU in remission.


METHODS
Among 2000 patients with CU who were referred to our outpatient clinic, 120 patients who suffered from a very severe CU began treatment with CsA 3 mg/kg. A clinical and laboratory followup was performed during this period of treatment.


RESULTS
In 20 patients, CsA was discontinued within 2-15 days after initiation because of side-effects. Among 62 of the remaining 100 patients (62%), CsA was administered for a period of 3 months with a highly beneficial outcome. In another 20 patients (20%), CsA was considered beneficial; however, it was required for a longer period of time, 5-10 years for some of the cases. In all cases, CsA was well tolerated and most important, it was safe. For 18 patients (18%), CsA therapy was reported as failed.


CONCLUSIONS
A low dose of CsA is a good option for patients who suffer from especially severe CU. In most cases, this therapy regimen is considered effective and safe. For a small group of patients, long-term therapy is needed, and until now it is considered safe.
Kessel
A
A
Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Bnai -Zion Medical Center, Technion Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.
Toubi
E
E
D002908:Chronic Disease; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D014581:Urticaria / Q000188:drug therapy*
D003879:Dermatologic Agents; D016572:Cyclosporine