Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria and Omalizumab as an Emerging Therapy

Chronic spontaneous or idiopathic urticaria (hereafter referred to as CSU) is a condition that can significantly affect an individual's quality of life. CSU can impair an individual's functional abilities, sleep patterns, and esteem, affecting quality of life to an extent comparable to heart disease Urticaria is characterized by wheals that arise and wane by the end of a 24-hour period. Although lesions may resolve quickly, new wheals may also form resulting in the chronicity of the condition. Chronicity is formally defined with the presence of these lesions for more than six weeks duration Acute urticaria, conversely, resolves in less than six weeks. Forms of chronic urticaria other than CSU involve known triggers, such as delayed pressure, cholinergic, and other physical triggers CSU, however, usually does not have a known etiology and is a diagnosis of exclusion. It is unlikely to find the precipitating agent in most cases