Thank you for taking our quiz on chronic urticaria!
How did you do?
1) The NCBI recently released recommendations for diagnosis and management of chronic idiopathic urticaria, recommends using a skin prick test as part of diagnosis to identify specific, associated allergens to CIU.*
a) True
b) False
Skin prick testing, typically used to identify specific allergens, is not useful for CIU as the condition is rarely caused by type 1 allergy, the authors note. “However, the utility and interpretation of an autologous serum skin test as a screen for autoantibodies to IgE and IgE receptors is an area of active research,” they write.
Feature: Guideline for Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria
2) Researchers assessed the effects and features of complete and fast response of omalizumab treatment in both spontaneous and chronic urticaria. After 6 months, what percentage of patients achieved well-controlled disease during the course of their omalizumab treatment?*
a) 48%
b) 58%
c) 68%
d) 78%
Of those, 71.7% were complete responders. Of all (n = 33) complete responders at any time during their treatment, 60.6% (n = 20) responded within 2 months (fast responders), 15 of them (75.0%) within the first month.
Feature: Therapy Efficacious in Both Spontaneous and Chronic Urticaria
3) A recent randomized double-blind pilot study of patients with CIU found that testing and treating H. pylori will not improve symptoms or provide a rapid resolution of CIU.*
a) True
b) False
Participants with H pylori had significantly lower hemoglobin concentrations with microcytic hypochromic anemia and a significantly higher occurrence of dyspepsia symptoms. All H pylori patients (except 2) had significant improvement of the urticaria itching and red wheals after 2 weeks of therapy compared to placebo.
Feature: Positive Effect of H pylori on Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria
4) The mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis in CIU and improvement with omalizumab are not completely understood. To take a closer look at the rate of clinical remission, a recent study found that the efficacy of omalizumab and disease severity was associated with what phenotype?*
a) Neutrophils
b) Eosinophils
c) Basophils
d) Mast cells
Two expected basophil characteristics in CIU – basopenia and distinct anti-IgE functional phenotype – was confirmed. According to the authors, a primary goal of the study was to determine if these well-defined basophil phenotypes would predict the clinical response to omalizumab.
Feature: The Efficacy of Omalizumab in CIU Associated with Basophil Phenotypes
