Retrospective Study of Clinico-Aetiological Factors of Chronic Urticaria Among Children Attending a Tertiary Care Paediatric Centre in Eastern Province of Sri Lanka

Introduction: Chronic urticaria is one of the growing problems worldwide and the prevalence is increasing. Around 2% of children have been shown to be affected with chronic urticaria. Objectives: To evaluate demographic, clinical and aetiological factors related to chronic urticaria in children and to assess investigations and treatment. Method: A retrospective study was done from January 2018 to December 2019 on 40 children aged 1-14 years who presented with chronic urticaria to the paediatric clinic, University Paediatric Unit, Batticaloa Teaching Hospital. Detailed information including demographic factors, duration of illness, main reasons for clinic attendance, treatment received from the out-patient department, caregiver reported allergens, family history of atopy and complications such as secondary bacterial infection were retrieved from clinic-based records. Information regarding laboratory investigations was also retrieved. Data were analysed using SPSS version 19.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results: Forty children were available for the analysis. The most common age category was four to eight years and 25 (62.5%) were females. Seventy percent of children had urticaria for one or more years. Thirty-six (90%) children had a family history of allergies such as allergic rhinitis, eczema, food allergies, medication allergies and bronchial asthma. The common precipitating factors were foods in 12 (30%) cases and insect bites in 10 (25%) cases. The main reasons for seeking medical advice were severe itchiness in 40 (100%) and sleep disturbances in 24 (60%). Only a limited number of investigations had been performed and they included white cell counts (differential eosinophil counts) and thyroid functions. Almost all had normal thyroid functions whilst 45% had eosinophilia. Conclusions: The majority of children with chronic urticaria had symptoms for over the one-year duration and reported a family history of allergy. All children reported severe itchiness as the main symptom and sleep was disturbed in the majority. The common precipitating factors were food and insect bites.