D2.267 - Real-World Clinical Outcomes of Chronic Urticaria Patients in Greece: Longitudinal Data from the CURE Registry

Chronic urticaria (CU) is difficult-to-treat skin disease, associated with substantial quality of life impairment. However, longitudinal real-world data evaluating treatment outcomes (disease activity, disease control, and quality of life) remain limited and were analyzed in this study. 

The analysis included Greek patients from the CURE registry with available baseline and follow-up data. Disease activity, disease control, and quality of life were evaluated using the Urticaria Activity Score (UAS7), the Urticaria Control Test (UCT), and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), respectively. Normality of continuous variables was assessed using the Shapiro–Wilk test. As UAS7, UCT and DLQI were not normally distributed, results are presented as median (IQR) and comparisons between baseline and follow-up visit (6 months) were assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

A total of 313 baseline and 133 follow-up data entries of CU patients were included in the analysis (mean age 44.3 ± 16.9 years, 69% female). At baseline, 76.0% of patients had Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria (CSU) and 22.4% had had Chronic Inducible Urticaria (CIndU) as the predominant form of urticaria. Follow-up data were available for 133 patients, with paired baseline–follow-up data available for 91 patients for the UAS7, 117 for the UCT, and 50 for the DLQI.

Median UAS7 decreased from 24 (IQR 14–35) at baseline to 10 (IQR 2.5–24) at follow-up (p < 0.001), indicating a significant reduction in disease activity. Median UCT increased from 5 (IQR 2–10) to 12 (IQR 8–15) (p < 0.001), reflecting improved disease control. Similarly, median DLQI decreased from 13 (IQR 6–18) to 3 (IQR 0.25–9) (p < 0.001), demonstrating significant improvement in quality of life.

At follow-up, 55.6% of patients achieved disease control (UCT ≥12) and 21.1% achieved complete disease control (UCT =16), while 44.4% remained uncontrolled (UCT <12). Importantly, 23% of patients with uncontrolled disease at baseline achieved disease control at follow-up, including 20% who achieved complete disease control (UCT =16).

Treatment information was available for 214 patients with both baseline and follow-up entries. Treatment escalation occurred in 18.7% of patients, while 29.9% de-escalated therapy and 51.4% remained on the same treatment level. Improvements in clinical outcomes were observed across all treatment groups.

In this real-world cohort of Greek patients with CU, clinically meaningful improvements in disease activity, disease control, and quality of life were observed during follow-up. Despite these improvements, a substantial proportion of patients remained uncontrolled, highlighting the need for optimized long-term management strategies in routine clinical practice.