The Efficacy, Safety and Long-term Effect of Cyclosporine for Treating Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria

Kim, Min Joo; Kim, Hei Sung; Kim, Hyung Ok; Park, Young Min

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The efficacy and safety of cyclosporine for the treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) have been studied in numerous trials, but there have been few studies on the long-term effect of cyclosporine.
OBJECTIVE
This study was aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of low-dose cyclosporine for treating CIU. Furthermore, its long-term effect on the natural course of CIU was investigated.
METHODS
Thirty patients who suffered from persistent CIU despite conventional treatments received 2~3 mg/kg/day of cyclosporine for 12 weeks. The severity score was assessed by means of the urticaria activity score and the visual analogue score at baseline and at weeks 2, 4, 8 and 12. The safety assessments consisted of reporting the side effects and monitoring the laboratory parameters. After a follow-up period of at least 1 year, the patients were asked whether they had any remaining or new symptoms and whether they still used antihistamines or any other drugs.
RESULTS
Twenty seven patients completed the trial medication, and the respective symptom scores significantly improved after 12 weeks. Four (14.8%) patients reported adverse events during the trial period, but the events were not severe enough to require withdrawal from the study. Of the twenty one patients who were followed for at least 1 year (range: 12~45 months) after the completion of cyclosporine administration, eight patients (38.1%) were symptom free, and seven patients (33.3%) used only antihistamines.
CONCLUSION
This study shows that low-dose cyclosporine is an efficacious and safe treatment option for treating CIU. In addition, the preliminary results suggest that low-dose cyclosporine might be helpful for the long-term control of this disease.