Preventive Care in Nursing and Midwifery Journal

  Background and Objectives: The incidence and etiologic factors of chronic urticaria, a common disease, was varied in different studies. The purpose of this study was to determine some causes of chronic urticaria and response to treatment in the patients suffering from chronic urticaria in allergy clinic of Vali-Asr Hospital in Zanjan during May 2004 to September 2007.

  Material and Methods: In this study, after taking thorough history and examining patients, laboratory test including atopy, thyroid disorders, collagen vascular, liver disorders and stool examination for parasitic infestation were taken. Data were analyzed using the SPSS.

  Results: One hundred forty six patients had chronic urticaria (100 females and 46 males, mean age: 30.69 years) 75 patients (51.4%) had idiopathic urticaria. From all, 42 patients (28.8%) had atopy and 25 patients (17%) had physical urtiaria. Response to treatment was seen in more than 80% of the patients.

  Conclusion: In our study, idiopathic urtiaria was the most common one however, the incidence was low in comparison with the other studies. We could not find any association between the consumption specific food and drugs with the urticaria. The response to treatment using the anti-histamines was very good.