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Review
. 2018 Jan-Feb;63(1):2-15.
doi: 10.4103/ijd.IJD_308_17.

Consensus Statement for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Urticaria: A 2017 Update

Kiran Godse  1 , Abhishek De  2 , Vijay Zawar  3 , Bela Shah  4 , Mukesh Girdhar  5 , Murlidhar Rajagopalan  6 , D S Krupashankar  7
Affiliations
Review

Consensus Statement for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Urticaria: A 2017 Update

Kiran Godse et al. Indian J Dermatol. 2018 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

This article is developed by the Skin Allergy Research Society of India for an updated evidence-based consensus statement for the management of urticaria, with a special reference to the Indian context. This guideline includes updated definition, causes, classification, and management of urticaria. Urticaria has a profound impact on the quality of life and causes immense distress to patients, necessitating effective treatment. One approach to manage urticaria is by identification and elimination of the underlying cause(s) and/or eliciting trigger(s) while the second one is by treatment for providing symptomatic relief. This guideline recommends the use of second-generation nonsedating H1-antihistamines as the first-line treatment. The dose can be increased up to four times to meet the expected results. In case patients still do not respond, appropriate treatment options can be selected depending on the associated medical condition, severity of the symptoms, affordability of the drugs, and accessibility of modern biologics such as omalizumab.

Keywords: Angioedema; Indian guidelines; antihistamine; autologous serum therapy; chronic urticaria; cyclosporine; hydroxyzine; methotrexate; montelukast; omalizumab.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest. What is new? This guideline provides a comprehensive and evidence based analysis of evaluation and management of urticaria with an Indian perspective.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ALGORITHM of management of urticaria. *: Safety evidence of up-dosing is available for levocetirizine, desloratadine and fexofenadine, ++: May be considered in selected situation, $: Should be considered for not more than 2 months as limited data are available for long-term safety
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