Abstract:

Song Zhiqiang, Luo Na, Chen Shuguang, Xu Jing, Huang Xiuying Department of Dermatology, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China Corresponding author: Song Zhiqiang, Email: zhiqiang.song@hotmail.com 【Abstract】 Objective To evaluate the efficacy of fexofenadine hydrochloride tablets at tapering doses for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria. Methods After receiving evaluation of medical history and undergoing autologous serum skin test （ASST）, 80 patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria were randomly divided into two groups: conventional dose group administrating fexofenadine hydrochloride tablets 120 mg/d for 12 consecutive weeks, tapering dose group administrating fexofenadine hydrochloride tablets 120 mg/d for the first 4 weeks followed by dose tapering of fexofenadine hydrochloride tablets by 30 mg at the 5th and 9th weeks. The urticaria activity score （UAS） and dermatology life quality index （DLQI） were evaluated before the treatment （baseline） as well as after 4?, 8? and 12?week treatment, and the total dose of fexofenadine hydrochloride was calculated. Results A total of 76 patients completed the 12?week treatment, including 37 patients in the conventional dose group and 39 patients in the tapering dose group. After 4?, 8? and 12?week treatment, a significant decrease was observed in the UAS in the conventional dose group （0.64 ± 0.82, 0.37 ± 0.68 and 0.27± 0.56 vs. 4.08 ± 0.79, all P < 0.01） and tapering dose group （0.61 ± 0.87, 0.48 ± 0.72 and 0.28 ± 0.61 vs. 4.07 ± 0.81, all P < 0.01） compared with that at baseline in the corresponding groups. DLQI scores also significantly decreased after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of treatment in the conventional dose group （3.62 ± 1.82, 2.81 ± 1.65 and 1.37 ± 1.14 vs. 16.19 ± 3.79, all P < 0.01） and tapering dose group （3.79 ± 2.57, 2.74 ± 2.11 and 1.15 ± 1.47 vs. 15.92 ± 4.2, all P < 0.01） compared with those at baseline. However, there were no significant differences in the UAS or DLQI scores between the conventional dose group and tapering dose group at any of the post?treatment time points （all P > 0.05）. After 8? and 12?week treatment, symptoms were controlled in 71.79% （28/39） and 82.05% （32/39） of patients in the tapering dose group, respectively, with the total dose of fexofenadine hydrochloride being significantly lower in the tapering dose group than in the conventional dose group （both P < 0.001）. Conclusion After 4 - 8 weeks of treatment with fexofenadine hydrochloride, the tapering dose regimen and conventional dose regimen show similar clinical efficacy in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.