Urticaria
Basics
Description
Description
- Cutaneous mast and basophil cellular release of inflammatory mediators, primarily histamine:
- Increased vascular permeability and pruritus
- Edema of the epidermis as well as the upper and middle dermis:
- More common in children and young adults
- More common in women
- More common in the atopic patient
- 40% of patients with urticaria will have a component of angioedema:
- Affects deeper subdermal and/or submucosal sites
Pediatric Considerations
- Urticaria is often the result of reactions to foods and infections:
- Especially viral URIs
- Swelling of distal extremities and acrocyanosis may be prominent in infants
- Bullae may form in the center of the wheal, especially on legs and buttocks
Etiology
AcuteEtiology
- Presumptive trigger may be found, but majority of cases are idiopathic
- Course of acute urticaria is 6 wk:
- 75% idiopathic in nature
- Autoimmune disease spectrum
- Immune complex–induced
- Often an unrecognized recurring physical urticaria
- May be due to occult or subclinical infection or systemic disease
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Citation
Schaider, Jeffrey J., et al., editors. "Urticaria." 5-Minute Emergency Consult, 6th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2020. Emergency Central, emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307335/all/Urticaria.
Urticaria. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, et al, eds. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307335/all/Urticaria. Accessed October 12, 2024.
Urticaria. (2020). In Schaider, J. J., Barkin, R. M., Hayden, S. R., Wolfe, R. E., Barkin, A. Z., Shayne, P., & Rosen, P. (Eds.), 5-Minute Emergency Consult (6th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307335/all/Urticaria
Urticaria [Internet]. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, Wolfe RER, Barkin AZA, Shayne PP, Rosen PP, editors. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. [cited 2024 October 12]. Available from: https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307335/all/Urticaria.
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