Jie Shen Fok, Pavel Kolkhir, Martin K. Church, Marcus Ma
Allergy . 2021 Feb 4. doi: 10.1111/all.14757. Online ahead of print.
Chronic spontaneous urticaria consists of wheals, angioedema, or both for more than six weeks. Patients with chronic urticaria have an impaired quality of life that impacts their relationships, work, and sleep. Existing treatment guidelines recommend a treatment escalation from second-generation H1-antihistamines to omalizumab and cyclosporine until complete response.
This review aimed to evaluate the predictors of response and nonresponse to these treatments in chronic spontaneous urticaria.
A systematic search was executed using the PubMed/MEDLINE database, and 73 studies were included. Different levels of evidence were categorized as strong (robust predictors), weak (emerging predictors), or not associated.
High disease activity, high C-reactive protein levels, and D-dimer are robust predictors of a poor or no response to H1-antihistamines. Low serum levels of total IgE may predict omalizumab response. Cyclosporine response may be predicted by a positive basophil histamine release assay, while low total IgE is an emerging predictor.
In conclusion, there are clinical and biochemical predictors of nonresponse to H1-antihistamines and omalizumab, as well as predictors of response to cyclosporine. These predictors can help specialists counsel patients and prioritize patients at risk of nonresponse to be assessed and switched to more effective treatments.
