Weekly injection of histaglobulin produces long-term remission in chronic urticaria: A prospective clinical study.
OBJECTIVE
Treatment of chronic urticaria (CU) can be difficult in many patients. Achieving long-term remission and reducing the requirement of antihistamines are vital in CU. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of injection histaglobulin, a complex of histamine and human immunoglobulin, in producing relief in patients with CU.


METHODS
Fifty-one patients with CU were enrolled into this prospective clinical study. Patients were administered 1 ml of injection histaglobulin subcutaneous for 8 consecutive weeks. They were also prescribed tablet levocetirizine 5 mg to be taken when required (but not more than the permitted dosage). Efficacy was assessed using urticaria activity score (UAS) which has a maximum score of 33/day, during each weekly visit. Final assessment was done after 24 weeks.


RESULTS
Twenty-nine patients had completed the entire 8-week drug regimen. Mean basal UAS was 18.9 ± 6.3 and it reduced to 80.4% by 8 weeks. The angioedema sub-score reduced by 89.8%. Anti-histamine pill burden also reduced significantly. By 24 weeks of starting the therapy, 23 patients (45%) had attained complete remission. No adverse effects to the drug were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Histaglobulin was found to be effective in producing long-term remission and it reduced the antihistamine requirement as well. Thus, it can serve as an effective alternative to existing treatment modalities.
Department of Dermatology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India.
Gurumoorthy
G
Rajesh
Department of Dermatology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India.
Subramaniam
S
Keerthi
Department of Dermatology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India.
Kaliaperumal
K
Karthikeyan
Department of Community Medicine, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India.
Murugan
M
Venkatesan
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D006632:Histamine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014581:Urticaria / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005719:gamma-Globulins / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D004338:Drug Combinations; D005719:gamma-Globulins; C002114:Histaglobin; D006632:Histamine
Angioedema; anti-histamines; chronic urticaria; histaglobulin; urticaria activity score