Effect of vamana in chronic autoimmune urticaria: A nonresponding case to steroids and cyclosporine

Abstract

Chronic urticaria (CU) is a debilitating disease that considerably affects health-related quality of life. CU symptoms affect a wide range of daily activities, from personal care to sleep/rest, work performance, and social relationships. Physical and emotional functioning is subjectively impaired beyond the severity of the actual disease symptoms. Chronic autoimmune urticaria is caused by anti-FcεRI and less frequently, by anti-immunoglobulin E autoantibodies. Chronic autoimmune urticaria has been found to be associated with autoimmune thyroid disease. A 38-year-old woman having more severe and difficult-to-control urticaria which was a diagnosed case of autoimmune urticaria by AIIMS, New Delhi, underwent vamana (therapeutic emesis) therapy and got satisfactory results. Assessment was done on UAS7 score which reduced from 42 to 0 after 3 months medication. Similarly, CU-Q2oL score reduced from 110 to 24 and Dermatology Life Quality Index score from 30 to 1. This is important because it was a rare case which was not responding to parenteral steroids and cyclosporine.