TITLE:
Clinical Profile of Chronic Urticaria: A Retrospective Observational Study from Farwaniya Hospital, Kuwait
AUTHORS:
Abeer Abdullah AlBazali, Ashok Kumar Sharma, Mohammad Rasheed AlRashidi
KEYWORDS:
Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria, Chronic Inducible Urticaria, Comorbidities
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.14 No.8,
August
13,
2026
ABSTRACT: Background: Between 15 and 25 percent of people will experience urticaria at some point in their lives. It is characterized by the development of wheals (hives), angioedema, or both. Different types and subtypes of urticaria have a very broad range of clinical manifestations. The Farwaniya Region is the most populated of Kuwait’s six governorates, and Farwaniya Hospital is one of the country’s main general hospitals. In February 2023, the Farwaniya Hospital’s Department of Dermatology established a Urticaria Unit. The specific objective of this study was to delineate the demographic and clinical characteristics of chronic urticaria within our population and to compare these findings with published data from diverse geographic regions. Methods: Based on an analysis of a database of patients who were seen at the specialized urticaria outpatient clinic between February 2023 and June 2024, the study was retrospective in nature. In addition to the demographic profile, laboratory parameters and the existence of comorbidities were examined in the records. Only a descriptive analysis was carried out because of the heterogeneity of the data. Results: 720 new urticaria patients were registered during the study period. Of these, 629 (87.4%) were diagnosed with chronic urticaria (CU); 515 (81.9%) had CSU; 34 (5.4%) had isolated chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU); and 80 (12.7%) had CSU with CIndU. An average diagnostic delay of 11 months was noted, and the mean age at symptom onset was 32.7 years (range 14 - 88). A subgroup of patients had elevated serum IgE levels and anti-TPO antibodies. Many patients had comorbidities and atopic diathesis. Conclusions: According to the majority of previously published research, the clinical profile of chronic urticaria appears to be comparable here. Compared to similar published reports from other locations, a smaller proportion of patients (where data was available) in our population had elevated IgE levels. Although not as prevalent as in other populations, atopic diseases were linked to chronic urticaria patients in our population. Only a small proportion of patients had H. pylori infection (where data was available). Additionally, drugs were not identified as a common precipitating factor.