Chronic urticaria is an itching skin disease which persists for more than 6 weeks. Chronic urticaria has great impact on the daily life of the patient, and the fluctuating nature of the symptoms complicates the monitoring and treatment of the disease. Currently, there are no reliable biomarkers to identify and measure disease activity in chronic spontaneous urticaria. Consequently, use of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) is crucial when evaluating and monitoring different aspects of chronic urticaria such as disease activity/severity, disease control, and quality of life. We present an overview of seven different PROs used in chronic urticaria and highlight their strengths, limitations, and use in clinical practice and research.
© 2017 The International Society of Dermatology.