title: Treatment of chronic urticaria.
abstract: Second-generation antihistamines are unquestionably the first-line treatment for chronic urticaria and can be used at higher than licensed doses if normal doses fail to control the disease. A short course of oral corticosteroids should be considered for patients not responding to antihistamines before trying other immunosuppressive drugs. Ciclosporin is effective in most antihistamine-resistant patients who require long-term corticosteroid treatments to control their disease. Omalizumab is effective in most subsets of chronic urticaria sufferers who do not respond to other treatments but its high cost represents a limitation to its widespread use.
authors.affiliation: Ambulatorio di Allergologia (Allergy Unit), Clinica San Carlo, Via Ospedale 21; 20037, Paderno Dugnano, Milano, Italy. Electronic address: r.asero@libero.it.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Asero
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tedeschi
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cugno
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D014581:Urticaria / Q000188:drug therapy*
keywords: Antihistamines; Chronic urticaria; Ciclosporin; Corticosteroids; Omalizumab; Therapy