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Urticaria

Todd A Wical, DO Reviewed 06/2022
 


BASICS

DESCRIPTION

  • A cutaneous lesion or lesions involving edema of the epidermis and/or dermis presenting with rapid onset and pruritus, returning to normal skin appearance within 24 hours

  • Pathophysiol...

DIAGNOSIS

HISTORY

Rapid onset; individual lesions resolve in <24 hours, pruritus 
ALERT

Important to rule out underlying anaphylaxis in those patients presenting with acute onset of urticaria (1)[C],...

TREATMENT

GENERAL MEASURES

The mainstay of therapy for urticaria is the avoidance of identified triggers. 

MEDICATION

First Line

2nd-generation antihistamine (H1) blockers are the first-line treatment of ...

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

After initial diagnosis, follow-up is recommended within six weeks as nearly 1/3 of acute patient go on to have persistent urticaria. 

Patient Monitoring

  • Use the ur...

REFERENCES

1
Zuberbier T, Aberer W, Asero R, et al. The EAACI/GA²LEN/EDF/WAO guideline for the definition, classification, diagnosis and management of urticaria. Allergy. 2018 Jul;73(7):1393-1414. 
2
...

ADDITIONAL READING

  • Dressler C, et al. Chronic inducible urticaria: A systematic review of treatment options. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2018 May;141(5):1726-1734. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2018.01.0...

CODES

ICD10

  • L50.9 Urticaria, unspecified

  • L50.1 Idiopathic urticaria

  • L50.8 Other urticaria

  • L50.2 Urticaria due to cold and heat

  • L50.6 Contact urticaria

  • L50.0 Allergic urticaria

  • L50.5 Cholinergic urticaria

  • L50....

CLINICAL PEARLS

  • Urticaria occurs rapidly and individual lesions resolve within 24 hours, although multiple crops of lesions can occur in stages.

  • Mainstay of therapy is to avoid identified triggers.

  • Anti...

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