PLACE OF ALLERGY IN CHRONIC URTICARIA

Is allergological assessment indicated in chronic urticaria, a disease which cannot be explained in the majority of cases? This retrospectiv e study was based on 350 subjects in whom the role of physical factors , the allergic predisposition and the possibility of sensitization to a respiratory allergen or a trophallergen were investigated. Delayed p ressure-induced urticaria, often associated must be systematically det ected. The family or personal history of atopy is not decisive except in rare cases of food polysensitization. The total IgE level generally does not constitute a diagnostic element. Sensitization to one or sev eral respiratory allergens was revealed in 32.3 per cent of our cases, but only the detection of 3 allergies to latex is contributive to the diagnosis. Food sensitization was detected in 59 cases (25.3%); this detection was useful for the management of urticaria in 57.6 per cent of these cases, but urticaria was cured as a result of eviction measur es in only 17 cases. The multifactorial nature of chronic urticaria (r eported in this study as well as in other studies in the literature) m akes it difficult to reach any aetiological conclusions in a large num ber of cases.