Impact of Omalizumab on Anaphylaxis in Patients Treated for Chronic Urticaria

Xiaoting Song; Bo Liu; Miao Yu; Shuanglu Liao; Tingting Luan; Changling Li; Zuotao Zhao

doi:10.1159/000527158

Impact of Omalizumab on Anaphylaxis in Patients Treated for Chronic Urticaria

Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2023;184(2):199-201. doi: 10.1159/000527158. Epub 2022 Nov 3.

Authors

Xiaoting Song^{1

2

3

4}, Bo Liu^{1

2

3

4}, Miao Yu^{1

2

3

4

5}, Shuanglu Liao^{1

2

3

4}, Tingting Luan^{1

2

3

4

5}, Changling Li⁶, Zuotao Zhao^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
² Beijing Key Laboratory of Molecular Diagnosis on Dermatoses, Beijing, China.
³ National Clinical Research Center for Skin and Immune Diseases, Beijing, China.
⁴ NMPA Key Laboratory for Quality Control and Evaluation of Cosmetics, Beijing, China.
⁵ Peking University School of Nursing, Beijing, China.
⁶ Monroe College, New Rochelle, New York, USA.

Abstract

Background: Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening systemic allergic reaction. Omalizumab (OMA) is an established treatment in chronic urticaria (CU), but experience in anaphylaxis is limited.

Objectives: The objective was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of OMA on anaphylaxis in patients with CU who are resistant to antihistamine therapy and have a history of anaphylaxis.

Method: Patients with antihistamine-resistant CU and a history of anaphylaxis were eligible. OMA was given 300 mg/150 mg every 4 weeks. Urticaria control test (UCT) scores, the episodes of anaphylaxis, and adverse events were recorded during the OMA treatment.

Results: A total of 7 adults were included. After starting OMA, all of them achieved a complete control (UCT = 16) after 3 months of OMA treatment; 6 of them did not suffer any attack of anaphylaxis in the follow-up periods (5 patients for more than 12 months and 1 patient for 4 months). No adverse events were observed.

Conclusion: The study indicated the efficacy and safety of OMA for antihistamine-resistant CU patients with a history of anaphylaxis and its potential as a prevention option for anaphylaxis.

Keywords: Anaphylaxis; Chronic urticaria; Omalizumab.

MeSH terms

Adult
Anaphylaxis* / prevention & control
Anti-Allergic Agents*
Chronic Disease
Chronic Urticaria* / drug therapy
Histamine H1 Antagonists
Humans
Omalizumab / adverse effects
Treatment Outcome
Urticaria* / drug therapy

Substances

Omalizumab
Histamine H1 Antagonists
Anti-Allergic Agents

Grants and funding

This project benefitted from funding of a Joint Sino-German Research Project by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the DFG (GZ901) and Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Project (Z211100007921017), which we gratefully acknowledge. We acknowledge the support of the GA2LEN network of Urticaria Centers of Reference and Excellence (UCAREs; www. ga2len-ucare.com).