Acute urticaria: differential diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

Acute urticaria remains one of the most topical pediatric problems. Acute urticaria lasts for up to 6 weeks, during which blisters appear with varying frequency and intensity. In about 40% of cases, urticaria is accompanied by angioedema. The prevalence of acute urticaria is 1 to 5% in the population, and in the child population the frequency of acute urticaria reaches 6.7%. According to recent estimates, 10 to 20% of the population has had an episode of acute urticaria during their lifetime. About 50% of children with acute urticaria have concomitant allergic diseases. The management of children with acute urticaria presents significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Treatment of acute urticaria in children begins with elimination of the significant trigger – appropriate measures are taken (withdrawal of the drug, administration of an elimination diet, therapy of infectious and inflammatory processes). First-line drugs for acute urticaria are H1-antihistamines, and it is recommended to use H1-antihistamines of the II generation. However, if clinical manifestations develop rapidly, if the patient has generalized urticarial rashes, angioedema, gastrointestinal symptoms, parenteral forms of first-generation antihistamines may be used to relieve the acute allergic reaction. Patients who do not respond to treatment with antihistamines may respond to short-term therapy with systemic glucocorticoids, although the efficacy of this treatment has yet to be tested in controlled clinical trials. The prognosis for acute urticaria is favorable – in most cases, acute spontaneous urticaria remains the only episode in the patient’s life. The disease develops into a chronic form in 5% of patients, and other estimates suggest that the symptoms of urticaria persist in 9.5% of children for up to 6 months.