BACKGROUND: Chronic urticaria (CU) is characterised by repeated occurrence of itchy and sometimes painful hives and/or angioedema for 6 weeks or longer. Here we have assessed the real-world healthcare resource utilisation (HRU) of CU patients.
METHOD: Data from CU patients in Europe and Central/South America (C/SA) in the ongoing observational AWARE study collected at enrolment (visit 1) were used. Patients were aged 18 years or older and refractory to at least one course of H1-antihistamine treatment. Visits to physician and medical offices due to CU were assessed, alongside the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire (scored 0-100; higher scores indicate greater impairment). Data were split by regions for comparison: Europe (United Kingdom, Nordic countries [Sweden, Norway, Denmark]; Southern Europe [Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece]; Germany; Russia) and C/SA (Central [Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama]; Southern [Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Argentina]). Descriptive statistics are reported here by region; comparisons among subregions will be presented.
RESULTS: A total of 4,226 patients provided data at visit 1 (Europe: n=3,733; C/SA: n=493); 63% were employed (Europe: 63%; C/SA: 59%). Visits owing to CU were most commonly made to general physicians and dermatologists/allergists; C/SA patients were more likely to visit dermatologists/allergists (51% vs. 47%) and less likely to visit general physicians (32% vs. 57%) than European patients. Emergency room visits due to CU were more common in C/SA (40%, mean [SD] number = 23.2 [124.3]) than Europe (29%, mean [SD] number = 3.7 [11.4]). Conversely, hospital admissions due to CU were more likely to occur in Europe (22%) than C/SA (8%), but the average (SD) number of admissions among those hospitalised was greater in C/SA (3.3 [4.7] vs. 2.0 [3.1]). Variations were seen in subregion comparisons. Mean (SD) overall WPAI scores were 7.0 (18.9), 25.1 (26.8), 27.3 (28.5), and 33.3 (30.8) for absenteeism, presenteeism, work productivity loss, and activity impairment, respectively; patients in C/SA reported a higher rate of impairment (range, 13%-36%) on all domains compared with patients in Europe.
CONCLUSION: CU is associated with substantial HRU and work and activity impairment in both Europe and C/SA. General physicians should be considered key members of the treatment team in the care of patients with CU in these regions.
