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Chronic Urticaria in Children: an Update on Diagnosis and Treatment

  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (W Dolen, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Allergy and Asthma Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Both adults and children are frequently affected by symptoms of itchy urticarial lesions that cause considerable distress and impact nearly all their daily activities. A comprehensive history is critical to identify the etiology in patients who have chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) (those with symptoms for > 6 weeks) and is more important than extensive laboratory serum tests. Unfortunately, most of the current treatment guidelines have been based on data from adult studies since there is rare data on children. These treatment algorithms have been subsequently used to extrapolate treatments for children.

Recent Findings

Current treatment regiments do not achieve complete success in all patients, neither adults nor children. As the pathophysiology of chronic urticaria slowly becomes defined, novel therapies are being tested which target these individual molecular pathways to treat those that continue to experience symptoms.

Summary

Future studies are required to establish the natural history, risks/benefits and efficacy of current medications, and biologics used to treat CSU in children.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Pediatrics, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Pediatrics, Div. of Allergy and Immunology, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, 80206, USA

    Evelyn A. Wang & Sanny K. Chan

  2. Dept. of Biomedical Research, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO, 80206, USA

    Sanny K. Chan

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Correspondence to Sanny K. Chan.

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Wang, E.A., Chan, S.K. Chronic Urticaria in Children: an Update on Diagnosis and Treatment. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 20, 31 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-020-00929-1

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