Biomaterial Database

Treatment of recalcitrant chronic urticaria with nonsedating antihistamines: is there evidence for updosing? 2013

M Sánchez-Borges, and F Caballero-Fonseca, and A Capriles-Hulett

Allergy and Clinical Immunology Department, Centro Medico-Docente La Trinidad, Caracas, Venezuela. sanchezbmario@gmail.com

Nonsedating antihistamines are the first-choice treatment for all forms of urticaria. In patients with recalcitrant urticaria who do not respond to conventional doses of antihistamines, current guidelines recommend increasing doses by up to 4 times in order to obtain better control of the disease. Although few studies have been conducted, there are convincing data from controlled trials for cetirizine, levocetirizine, and desloratadine that support the use of increased doses of such drugs in unresponsive patients. The use of higher doses of antihistamines has not been associated with increased adverse effects or somnolence. More studies with other second-generation antihistamines are required in order to improve the treatment of patients with severe, recalcitrant urticaria.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D002908	Chronic Disease	Diseases which have one or more of the following characteristics: they are permanent, leave residual disability, are caused by nonreversible pathological alteration, require special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation, or care (Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed). For epidemiological studies chronic disease often includes HEART DISEASES; STROKE; CANCER; and diabetes (DIABETES MELLITUS, TYPE 2).	Chronic Condition,Chronic Illness,Chronically Ill,Chronic Conditions,Chronic Diseases,Chronic Illnesses,Condition, Chronic,Disease, Chronic,Illness, Chronic
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014581	Urticaria	A vascular reaction of the skin characterized by erythema and wheal formation due to localized increase of vascular permeability. The causative mechanism may be allergy, infection, or stress.	Hives,Urticarial Wheals,Urticarial Wheal,Urticarias,Wheal, Urticarial,Wheals, Urticarial
D039563	Histamine H1 Antagonists, Non-Sedating	A class of non-sedating drugs that bind to but do not activate histamine receptors (DRUG INVERSE AGONISM), thereby blocking the actions of histamine or histamine agonists. These antihistamines represent a heterogenous group of compounds with differing chemical structures, adverse effects, distribution, and metabolism. Compared to the early (first generation) antihistamines, these non-sedating antihistamines have greater receptor specificity, lower penetration of BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER, and are less likely to cause drowsiness or psychomotor impairment.	Second Generation Antihistamine,Second Generation H1 Antagonist,Third Generation H1 Antagonist,H1 Antihistamines, Non-Sedating,Second Generation Antihistamines,Second Generation H1 Antagonists,Third Generation H1 Antagonists,Antihistamine, Second Generation,Antihistamines, Second Generation,Generation Antihistamine, Second,H1 Antihistamines, Non Sedating,Histamine H1 Antagonists, Non Sedating,Non-Sedating H1 Antihistamines