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Review of cold-induced urticaria characteristics, diagnosis and management in a Western Canadian allergy practice Stepaniuk, Peter; Vostretsova, Kateryna; Kanani, Amin

Abstract

Background: Cold-induced urticaria is a significant condition, especially among young females. Despite the morbidity of this disease, studies that fully characterize the disease are limited. Methods: We analyzed the characteristics of patients diagnosed with cold-induced urticaria at a community-based allergy practice in Vancouver, BC, Canada between 2003 and 2016. Detailed patient history, diagnostic measures and treatment were evaluated. Results: A total of 50 patients were found to have active cold-induced urticaria with a median age of 28.5 (range 2–67) years and 35 patients (70%) were female. 16 patients (32%) had co-occurring physical urticarias while 26 patients (52%) had secondary allergic diagnoses and 3 patients (6%) were thought to have a provoking factor. Of those with a clinical history of suspected cold-induced urticaria that were evaluated with ice cube testing, a positive test was obtained in 84.7% of patients. Treatment was largely with non-sedating antihistamines, with the majority of patients receiving this modality. Conclusions: Cold-induced urticaria is a complex disease with significant overlap with other chronic inducible urticarias and other allergic diseases. Diagnostic testing shows inconsistent results and the mainstay of treatment consists of non-sedating antihistamines, with other options available for those who do not respond.

Item Metadata

Title
Review of cold-induced urticaria characteristics, diagnosis and management in a Western Canadian allergy practice
Creator
Stepaniuk, Peter; Vostretsova, Kateryna; Kanani, Amin
Publisher
BioMed Central
Date Issued
2018-12-18
Description
Background: Cold-induced urticaria is a significant condition, especially among young females. Despite the morbidity of this disease, studies that fully characterize the disease are limited. Methods: We analyzed the characteristics of patients diagnosed with cold-induced urticaria at a community-based allergy practice in Vancouver, BC, Canada between 2003 and 2016. Detailed patient history, diagnostic measures and treatment were evaluated. Results: A total of 50 patients were found to have active cold-induced urticaria with a median age of 28.5 (range 2–67) years and 35 patients (70%) were female. 16 patients (32%) had co-occurring physical urticarias while 26 patients (52%) had secondary allergic diagnoses and 3 patients (6%) were thought to have a provoking factor. Of those with a clinical history of suspected cold-induced urticaria that were evaluated with ice cube testing, a positive test was obtained in 84.7% of patients. Treatment was largely with non-sedating antihistamines, with the majority of patients receiving this modality. Conclusions: Cold-induced urticaria is a complex disease with significant overlap with other chronic inducible urticarias and other allergic diseases. Diagnostic testing shows inconsistent results and the mainstay of treatment consists of non-sedating antihistamines, with other options available for those who do not respond.
Subject
Cold-induced urticaria; Physical urticaria; Review; Diagnosis; Treatment
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2018-12-18
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
DOI
10.14288/1.0375775
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/68095
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Allergy and Immunology, Division of; General Internal Medicine, Division of; Medicine, Department of
Citation
Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology. 2018 Dec 18;14(1):85
Publisher DOI
10.1186/s13223-018-0310-5
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Copyright Holder
The Author(s)
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Rights

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)