Antihistamine-resistant chronic spontaneous urticaria remains undertreated: 2-year data from the AWARE study.

BACKGROUND Real-world evidence describing the benefits of recommended therapies and their impact on the quality of life (QoL) of chronic urticaria (CU) patients is limited. OBJECTIVE To investigate disease burden, current treatment schedule and the use of clinical resources by patients with H1 -antihistamine refractory CU in Europe. METHODS AWARE (A World-wide Antihistamine-Refractory chronic urticaria patient Evaluation) is a global, prospective, non-interventional study in the real-world setting, sponsored by the manufacturer of omalizumab. Disease characteristics, pharmacological treatments, and health-related QoL of patients (N=2727) ≥18 years of age diagnosed with H1 -antihistamine-refractory chronic spontaneous urticaria (without inducible urticaria) for >2 months are reported here. RESULTS Of the 2727 patients included, 1232 (45.2%) and 1278 (46.9%) were successfully followed up for any assessment and for the key outcome, the urticaria control test (UCT) score, respectively, and patients with complete remission (14.1%) were excluded from analyses.The proportion of patients with uncontrolled CSU (UCT score <12) dropped from 78% (n/N=1641/2104) at baseline to 28.7% (n/N=269/936) after two years of participation in the AWARE study. In addition, the proportion of patients with no impact of CSU on their QoL (assessed by the Dermatological Life Quality Index) increased to 57% (n/N=664/1164) from 18.7% (n/N=491/2621) at baseline. Emergency room visits (2.4% [n/N=7/296] vs 33.5% [n/N=779/2322]) and hospital stays (1.7% [n/N=5/296] vs 24.2% [n/N=561/2322]) reduced at Month 24 vs baseline. Overall, 23.2% (n/N=26/112) patients on non-sedating H1 -antihistamines (nsAH) and 41.9% (n/N=44/105) patients on up-dosed nsAH had uncontrolled CSU (UCT <12) at Month 24. In omalizumab treated patients, 27.1% (n/N=78/288) had uncontrolled CSU at month 24. CONCLUSION These data confirm improvements for most patients with CSU over a 2-year follow-up period. Further studies are needed to understand the differences between guideline recommendations and reported management.