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Single course of IV immunoglobulins insufficient for solar urticaria remission

One course of intravenous immunoglobulins was insufficient for prolonged remission in patients with solar urticaria, according to recent study results.

Researchers in France conducted a multicentric, phase 2 study of 10 patients with severe and refractory solar urticaria (SU; mean age, 39.4 years; seven women) from May 2011 to February 2013 to examine the efficacy of a single course of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG; 2 g/kg). Remission of SU on phototesting at 12 weeks after IVIG treatment was the primary outcome. Clinical remission, improved quality of life, and a 50% improvement in visual analog scale for disease intensity were secondary outcomes.

Nine patients received the IVIG course with follow-up treatment at 4 and 12 weeks. Two patients showed remission of SU on phototesting at 12 weeks (response rate, 22.2%; 95% CI, 2.8%-60%).

Six patients showed at least one response criterion at 4 weeks and five after 12 weeks. Two patients maintained response after 24 weeks; one patient maintained response after 48 weeks. Moderate to severe headache was reported by 56% of patients.

“Altogether, a single course of IVIG was followed by clinical benefit during 3 months in more than half of the patients with severe and refractory SU but seemed insufficient for complete and prolonged remission, which suggests the need to further test the efficacy of repeated courses of IVIG, while keeping in mind a potential poor tolerance to IVIG in these patients,” the researchers concluded.

 Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.