Abstract:

Objective: To correlate the severity of chronic urticaria (CU) and the serum levels of immunoglobulins, C3 and C4. Methods: One hundred and sixty patients with chronic urticaria were enrolled in this study. Urticaria Activity Score (UAS) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score were used to assess the severity of the disease. The levels of serum IgA, IgM, IgG, C3 and C4 were detected and the results were compared with those in 80 controls. The correlation between the severity of the disease and the results of the tests was analyzed. Results: The level of serum IgA, C3, C4 in the patients with CU was significantly lower than that in the normal controls (P<0.05). The level of serum IgM was higher than that in the normal controls, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). The level of serum IgG was significantly higher than that in normal control group (P<0.05). There was a linear negative correlation between UAS score and serum C3 and C4 levels, but the correlation with serum IgA, IgG and IgM was not significant (P>0.05). There was no significant linear correlation between DALI score with serum IgA, IgM, IgG, C3, C4 concentrations (P>0.05). Conclusion: The serum levels of IgA, IgG, C3, C4 may be related to the onset of CU and serum C3 and C4 concentrations can be used as an index of the severity of CU.

Key words: chronic urticaria')">

chronic urticaria, immunoglobulin