Efficacy of Fexofenadine in the Treatment of Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria.

Urticaria is a common clinical condition that gives a major concern for physicians and patients alike. Urticaria is referred to as chronic when wheals occur daily or almost daily for a period of at least six weeks. The primary purpose of this study is to find out the efficacy of fexofenadine in the treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria patients among the Bangladeshi population. This quasi-experimental study was performed in the Department of Dermatology & Venereology, Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital, Bogura, Bangladesh from July 2013 to December 2013. Total 100 patients of chronic idiopathic urticaria aged 18 years and above with exclusion and inclusion criteria were selected. Then they were given fexofenadine 120mg twice daily for the treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria for four weeks. A semi quantitative rating scales were used for the assessment of therapeutic efficacy before and after treatment. Data were collected in a pre-designed questionnaire by face-to-face interview and analyzed by the help of SPSS. Among the 100 respondents after one week of treatment, 8.0% had complete disappearance of symptoms, 10.0% had marked improvement, 40.0% had moderate improvement and 42.0% had slight improvement. After two weeks of treatment 35.0% had complete disappearance of symptoms, 13.0% had marked improvement, 12.0% had moderate improvement and 40.0% had slight improvement. After three weeks of treatment 40.0% had complete disappearance of symptoms, 13.0% had marked improvement, 35.0% had moderate improvement and 12.0% had slight improvement. After four weeks of treatment 42.0% had complete disappearance of symptoms, 24.0% had marked improvement, 26.0% had moderate improvement and 8.0% had slight improvement. The study concluded that fexofenadine is very effective in the treatment of chronic idiopathic urtecaria.