查看文章

Chronic urticaria (CU) is defined as recurrent, transitory, pruritic-raised wheals present on most days of the week for> 6 weeks1. The pathogenesis of CU is unknown; but it is thought to be the result of autoimmunity, at least in some patients. Evidence supporting this comes from assays suggesting the presence of functional autoantibodies. IgG autoantibodies to IgE or to the high-affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) have been directly detected in~ 40-50% of CU patients. 2 While of interest, identifying these antibodies is laborious and not fully validated, therefore, numerous surrogate assays have been developed. A positive autologous serum skin test (ASST) can be identified in 30-67% of CU patients3 and is an indirect reflection of autoantibodies. However, the ASST is positive in 37% of non-CU patients3, making it of less certain clinical relevance. Alternatively, the sera of 40-50% of CU patients can induce the release of …