Contact Urticaria Syndrome Follow-up

  • Author: Saqib Bashir, MB, ChB, MD, MRCP; Chief Editor: Dirk M Elston, MD   more...
 
Updated: Jan 11, 2012
 

Further Inpatient Care

  • Routinely, admission for medical care is not indicated for contact urticaria syndrome. Additional inpatient care is rarely indicated.
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Further Outpatient Care

  • If a patient has immunologic contact urticaria, a follow-up visit to verify the patient's understanding of the condition may be indicated.
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Transfer

  • Transfer is rarely indicated.
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Deterrence/Prevention

  • Contact urticaria syndrome is treated by prevention. This highlights the importance of clinical testing to identify the causative substance. The patient should then be advised to avoid that substance or products containing that substance to prevent recurrence.
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Complications

  • A delayed allergic eczematous dermatitis reaction can occur (see Mortality/Morbidity). Extracutaneous contact urticaria syndrome has led to anaphylaxis in severe cases and is believed to be a cause of death intraoperatively in some cases (due to allergy to latex).
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Prognosis

  • The prognosis is entirely dependent on the ubiquity of the etiologic substance and the patient's ability to avoid contact with it. However, even in cases of severe immunologic contact urticaria to latex, the long-term prognosis can be good if patients take an active role in controlling their environment by educating themselves and others.
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Patient Education

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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Saqib Bashir, MB, ChB, MD, MRCP  Consultant Dermatologist and Dermatological Surgeon, King's College Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, UK; Research Fellow, Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine

Saqib Bashir, MB, ChB, MD, MRCP is a member of the following medical societies: British Association of Dermatologists, British Medical Association, Royal College of Physicians, and Royal Society of Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Howard I Maibach, MD  Professor and Vice Chairperson, Department of Dermatology, University of California School of Medicine at San Francisco; Consulting Staff, University of California Hospitals

Howard I Maibach, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, American College of Forensic Examiners, American College of Physicians, American Contact Dermatitis Society, American Dermatological Association, American Federation for Clinical Research, American Medical Association, California Medical Association, Pacific Dermatologic Association, and Society for Investigative Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Donald Belsito, MD  Professor of Clinical Dermatology, Department of Dermatology, Columbia University Medical Center

Donald Belsito, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American Contact Dermatitis Society, Dermatology Foundation, New York County Medical Society, New York Dermatological Society, Noah Worcester Dermatological Society, and Phi Beta Kappa

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Richard P Vinson, MD  Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Dermatology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Paul L Foster School of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Mountain View Dermatology, PA

Richard P Vinson, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, Association of Military Dermatologists, Texas Dermatological Society, and Texas Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Jeffrey P Callen, MD  Professor of Medicine (Dermatology), Chief, Division of Dermatology, University of Louisville School of Medicine

Jeffrey P Callen, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American College of Physicians, and American College of Rheumatology

Disclosure: Amgen Honoraria Consulting; Celgene Honoraria Safety Monitoring Committee

Catherine M Quirk, MD  Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania

Catherine M Quirk, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha and American Academy of Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Dirk M Elston, MD  Director, Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology, New York

Dirk M Elston, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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