Elevated Serum Total IgE Levels in Patients with Chronic Urticaria Indicate Insensitivity to Antihistamine Treatment

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Serum total IgE (tIgE) levels are elevated in patients with chronic urticaria (CU); however, the nature of the elevated serum tIgE level in CU patients remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between elevated serum levels of tIgE in patients with CU and the sensitivity of these patients to antihistamine treatments. Methods: Blood samples of 302 patients with CU were collected, and their levels of serum tIgE were measured. The patients were divided into two groups according to their serum tIgE level: High serum tIgE level group (≥150 U/mL) and Low serum tIgE level group (<150 U/mL). The correlations between the serum tIgE and disease severity as well as the sensitivity of patients to antihistamine treatments were assessed. Data were statistically analyzed using t-tests and Chi-square tests. Results: Higher rates of positive autologous serum skin test results (χ 2 = 5.707, P = 0.017) and skin scratch test results (χ 2 = 5.878, P = 0.015), higher CU scores (average: 2.88 ± 0.73 vs. 2.18 ± 0.59, t = 6.377, P < 0.001), and longer disease course durations (median: 8.5 vs. 14.6, z = 5.525, P < 0.001) were observed in patients with high levels of serum tIgE compared with those with low levels of serum tIgE; moreover, patients with higher levels of serum tIgE were less sensitive to antihistamine therapies compared with those with lower levels of serum tIgE (χ 2 = 16.783, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our study indicates that the high serum tIgE level is associated with the disease severity as well as with low sensitivity to antihistamine treatment of patients.