| RESEARCH ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2016 | Volume
: 48
| Issue : 3 | Page : 292-297 |
Weekly injection of histaglobulin produces long-term remission in chronic urticaria: A prospective clinical study
Gurumoorthy Rajesh1, Subramaniam Keerthi1, Kaliaperumal Karthikeyan1, Murugan Venkatesan2
1 Department of Dermatology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India
2 Department of Community Medicine, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Gurumoorthy Rajesh
Department of Dermatology, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0253-7613.182884
Objective: Treatment of chronic urticaria (CU) can be difficult in many patients. Achieving long-term remission and reducing the requirement of antihistamines are vital in CU. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of injection histaglobulin, a complex of histamine and human immunoglobulin, in producing relief in patients with CU.
Materials and Methods: Fifty-one patients with CU were enrolled into this prospective clinical study. Patients were administered 1 ml of injection histaglobulin subcutaneous for 8 consecutive weeks. They were also prescribed tablet levocetirizine 5 mg to be taken when required (but not more than the permitted dosage). Efficacy was assessed using urticaria activity score (UAS) which has a maximum score of 33/day, during each weekly visit. Final assessment was done after 24 weeks.
Results: Twenty-nine patients had completed the entire 8-week drug regimen. Mean basal UAS was 18.9 ± 6.3 and it reduced to 80.4% by 8 weeks. The angioedema sub-score reduced by 89.8%. Anti-histamine pill burden also reduced significantly. By 24 weeks of starting the therapy, 23 patients (45%) had attained complete remission. No adverse effects to the drug were observed.
Conclusions: Histaglobulin was found to be effective in producing long-term remission and it reduced the antihistamine requirement as well. Thus, it can serve as an effective alternative to existing treatment modalities.
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