Original Articles: Systemic Allergic DisordersThe Urticaria Severity Score: a sensitive questionnaire/index for monitoring response to therapy in patients with chronic urticaria
Section snippets
INTRODUCTION
Urticaria is a common skin condition, which is estimated to afflict 10% to 20% of the US population at some time in their life.1, 2 Chronic urticaria refers to the daily or almost daily presence of itchy wheals for at least 6 weeks.1 Chronic urticaria has been shown to have a significant impact on patients’ quality of life (QOL), including sleep disturbances, social isolation, altered emotions, and difficulties with activities of daily living.3, 4 The disability and reduced QOL in untreated
Participants and Background
Institutional review board approval was obtained from the Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, institutional review board. Study participants were men or women 18 years or older who were willing to grant informed consent. These individuals were recruited from the outpatient clinical services of the Division of Allergy/Immunology of the Albert Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center with inclusion criteria as follows: aged 18 years or older and diagnosed as having chronic urticaria, which was
Sample Characteristics
The main patient sample included 80 patients (21 men and 59 women) whose mean (SD) age was 42.8 (16.2) years; their mean (SD) urticaria duration was 4.22 (6.76) years (data not shown). All patients who were approached agreed to participate, and all forms were fully completed.
Correlation Between the USS and the Previously Validated DLQI
Among our 80-patient sample, the USS and DLQI were administered at baseline and follow-up. The mean (SD) time to follow-up was 1.80 (6.76) weeks (range, 1-4 weeks). The mean (SD) USS scores were 35.4 (13.9) (range, 8-78) at
DISCUSSION
The QOL measures play key roles within the realms of direct patient care, clinical research, and health-related economics.14 The QOL assessments may be used to evaluate treatment effectiveness and can also be applied to routinely monitor patients with a particular disease state. The QOL scores may also serve as patient-centered outcome measures in the setting of a research trial. Along these lines, QOL outcomes can highlight the disability from a given disease and guide appropriate resource
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Disclosures: Authors have nothing to disclose.