The Results of Autologous Skin Test in Patients with Chronic Urticaria in Hamadan, Iran

INTRODUCTION The etiology of chronic urticaria is unknown in many cases. In this study, we demonstrated the presence of autoimmune antibodies in patients with chronic urticaria by using of the Autologous Serum Skin Test (ASST). METHODS We performed a cross-sectional study to detect the presence of autologous antibodies in the serum of 38 patients (25 females and 13 males) with idiopathic chronic urticaria who were referred to the Hamedan Allergy Clinic in 2014. All of the necessary tests for demonstrating chronic urticaria were performed, including complete blood count (CBC), thyroid and liver functionality tests, and the prick test but they did not confirm the cause of chronic urticaria. We conducted the Autologous Serum Skin Test on the patients and analyzed the results. RESULTS In 15 patients (39%), the ASST was positive. Of the 15 patients with positive autoimmune chronic urticaria, five patients (33%) were males, and 10 patients (67%) were females. CONCLUSION We concluded that many patients with chronic urticaria have autoimmune urticaria. It is the reason for the lack of the response to treatment with common medications for urticaria. New ways of treatment must be considered for them.