Chronic urticaria: background, evaluation, and treatment.

Urticaria and angioedema will affect 15% of the general population during their lifetime, and this remains one of the most vexing cutaneous conditions to evaluate and treat. Patients frequently go from one physician to another in hopes of finding a healthcare provider who can identify the cause and cure the ailment. Physicians treating hives are equally frustrated as they ponder the utility of obtaining a panel of screening laboratory tests that have previously been shown to have a low yield or obtaining selected allergy tests in a group of patients who are no more prone to allergic disease than the general public. This review presents recent information in a clinical context with the aim of aiding the physician in understanding the pathophysiology of urticaria and formulating an intelligent evaluation and treatment plan.