Patient Characteristics, Comorbidities, and Management (Table 1)
A total of 52 children with CU were recruited, consisting of 35 patients with solely CSU and 17 patients with CIndU. One CIndU case was delayed pressure urticaria and the remainder were cold urticaria (n=16), of which one had concomitant cholinergic urticaria. Half of the patients recruited were female and the median age of onset of CU was 10.0 years (Interquartile Range [IQR]=5.0-13.0). Median age at study entry was 11.8 years (IQR=6.3-14.5). All patients recruited completed the UCT and CDLQI at study entry with median scores of 8.0 (IQR=7.0-12.0) and 5.0 (IQR=2.0-7.0), respectively. Of the patients recruited, 30 (57.7%) had a low impact on their QoL (CLDQI≤5), suggesting well-controlled disease. Comorbidities included atopic dermatitis (17.3%), allergic rhinitis (15.4%), asthma (11.5%), food allergy (9.6%), and insect venom allergy (1.9%). Less common comorbidities were autoimmune disease (3.8%), consisting of one case of celiac disease and one case of Crohn’s disease. No patients presented with a history of autoinflammatory symptoms (i.e., arthralgia and/or recurrent fever). At study enrolment, almost half (53.8%) of patients were not taking any medication to manage their CU. The remaining patients (46.2%) were managed with sgAHs. No patients were taking omalizumab or oral corticosteroids at study entry.