The autologous serum skin test in the follow-up of patients with chronic urticaria

Background: The presence of anti-FceRI and anti-IgE autoantibodies in a subset of patients with chronic urticaria suggests their aetiopathogenetic role. In clinical practice, the presence of these antibodies is usually considered when the autologous serum skin test (ASST) is positive. Aims: To evaluate if the positive ASST follows up the activity of chronic urticaria. Methods: Autologous serum skin test and thyroid autoantibody detection were performed in 82 patients with chronic urticaria and repeated 1 year later, when the vast majority of patients were symptom-free. Twenty patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), who had never suffered from urticaria, represented the control group. Results: At the start of the study, the prevalence of positive ASST was 46.6%. The association of HT–urticaria was 29.3%. ASST was positive in 62 and 39% of patients with and without HT, respectively (P > 0.05 ns). One year later, 28 of 34 patients with a positive ASST were symptom-free, but 50% of them were positive for ASST. The ASST was positive in 86.7 and 8% of patients with and without HT, respectively (P