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Objective. The authors proposed to evaluate the seroprevalence of HCV infection, a possible role of HCV in urticaria appearance and the impact of hepatocellular damage caused by HCV infection on the severity of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) activity. Material and methods. We conducted a retrospective case-control study, which included 1208 CIU patients and 907 volunteers without urticaria. For studying the effect of hepatic dysfunction on CIU severity, we monitored 120 persons divided in 4 groups: group A (30 CIU patients HCV-positive), group B (30 CIU patients HCV-negative), group C (30 HCV-positive patients without urticaria), group D (30 healthy volunteers). Results. The presence of HCV infection in CIU patients was 14,4% versus persons without urticaria (11,2%). We didn't find a determinant role of HCV infection in CIU appearance. The hepatocellular damage and the inflammatory status influence the severity of CIU. We calculated a causal relationship between butyrylcholinesterase and the acute phase response in CIU patients. Conclusions. The modulation of BChE activity could represent a mechanism of inflammation inhibition in CIU patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urticaria is a common and complex disease, with a profound negative impact on the socio-economic quality of life, involving direct and indirect increased costs. According to studies, the prevalence of urticaria exceeds 20%. The authors have proposed to assess the impact of Helicobacter pylori infection on the response to antihistamine treatment in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria. Helicobacter pylori eradication was associated with increased efflcacy of the antihistamines treatment in CIU patients. Eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection can lead to improvement of symptoms, even if it has no direct role in the etiology of chronic idiopathic urticaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]