Association of HCV and Chronic Urticaria resistant to empirical anti-histamine therapy

Background and Objective: Hepatitis C (HCV) is associated with many dermatological manifestations. The aim of this study was to establish an association between HCV infection and chronic urticaria resistant to empirical anti-histamine therapy in patients of district Sargodha.Methods: A total of 300 patients of chronic urticaria (>6 weeks) resistant to empirical anti-histamine therapy with different age groups ranging (18-60) years were examined for presence of antibody to HCV in a control population. A retrospective study carried out at District Headquarters Hospital Sargodha over a period of 1st April, 2019 to 31st October 2019. Patients of chronic urticaria resistant to empirical anti-histamine therapy with no previous history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension or any other chronic illnesses like chronic liver disease (CLD), chronic renal failure (CRF) etc. were selected randomly. Fresh blood samples were taken from these patients and examined for HCV antibodies through serological techniques. All 300 patients (157 males and 143 females) included in the study were diagnosed to have chronic urticaria of duration more than 6 weeks and none of them had previously diagnosed HCV infection.Results: From 300 patients of chronic urticaria resistant to empirical anti-histamine therapy, 57 patients (34 males and 23 females) were diagnosed to have HCV antibodies and 243 patients showed negative resultsConclusions: Our findings show a calculated prevalence of patients with HCV infection among chronic urticaria patients resistant to empirical anti-histamine therapy.