Analysis of Predictive Factors of Response to Omalizumab Treatment in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria Patients / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

Background@#The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology guideline for the management of urticaria published in 2018 recommends adding omalizumab as a third-line therapy. However, data on the potential predictive factors of a successful response to omalizumab are limited in Korea. Therefore, this study aimed to perform a retrospective clinical analysis of the effects of omalizumab in a Korean population of patients affected by chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). @*Objective@#To investigate factors affecting the effect of omalizumab treatment and identify factors related to its clinical response. @*Methods@#We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of patients with CSU treated with omalizumab at the single-center dermatology department from February 2018 to August 2020. Omalizumab was administered at a single dose of 150 mg every 4 weeks. Clinical treatment response was assessed using the urticaria activity score summed over 7 days (UAS7) after the fourth, sixth, and 12th omalizumab injections. @*Results@#Twenty-six patients were enrolled in this study. The mean UAS7 at baseline was 16.9 (range, 4∼28). Treatment was completed in seven patients (26.9%). Three patients (11.5%) discontinued treatment because of poor treatment response. Symptoms improved in all patients at the fourth injection (UAS7=3.9, range 0∼10). The second administration of omalizumab showed that the lower the body mass index (BMI), the better the response to treatment (p＜0.05), and a similar trend after an additional injection. @*Conclusion@#The symptoms improved after omalizumab treatment in most patients. Those with a lower BMI and higher total immunoglobulin E levels during long-term treatment showed significantly better treatment responses.