Fuente: PubMed "hive" Cutan Ocul Toxicol. 2026 Mar 6:1-9. doi: 10.1080/15569527.2026.2638833. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTPURPOSE: Chronic urticaria (CU) impacts patients through unpredictable episodes of hives and angioedema, affecting their quality of life. This study aims to evaluate tolerability and drug survival rates of omalizumab compared to second-generation H1 antagonists and to identify factors influencing the progression of CU.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single-center, retrospective study was conducted at our dermatology department, focusing on adults diagnosed with CU. Data were collected through clinical assessments, laboratory evaluations, and phone calls, with additional retrospective extraction from electronic health records. As recommended, omalizumab was first added to antihistamines and omalizumab survival was measured among all patients who had ever received it, regardless of whether they had discontinued antihistamines at any point.RESULTS: The study cohort consisted of 93 patients with CU, comprising 70 women and 23 men. Fifty-seven patients received omalizumab, with a median drug survival of nine months for the first cycle of therapy. The remaining 36 patients were treated exclusively with antihistamines, with a median drug survival of 67 months. Asthma and lower baseline basophil counts were significantly associated with longer disease duration. Baseline fibrinogen levels correlated with duration of omalizumab treatment. Complement 4 levels were significantly lower in the omalizumab group than in those treated exclusively with antihistamines.CONCLUSIONS: Both Type 1 (asthma) and Type 2b (lower basophil counts and higher fibrinogen levels) CU features are associated with longer disease duration. These insights facilitate more personalized and effective management strategies for this challenging condition. Discontinuation was more often due to pregnancy or remission rather than safety concerns or lack of efficacy. Limitations of this retrospective single-center study include indirect assessment of disease severity, potential recall bias, heterogeneous treatment regimens, limited adverse event reporting, and lack of pretreatment biomarker measurements.PMID:41790015 | DOI:10.1080/15569527.2026.2638833