Background: Urticaria affects a wide range of daily activities and social relationships. It has a severe impact on quality of life (QOL) and causes psychological problems. Objective: was to assess the impact of chronic urticaria (CU) on quality of sleep, the levels of depression, anxiety, QOL and their interaction with each other and their relation to disease related factors. Patients and methods: The study included 25 patients with CU and 25 healthy controls. Urticaria Activity Score (UAS) was used for objective evaluation of the intensity of urticaria. Patients completed a 10-cm visual analogue score (VAS) indicating the overall severity of their itching over the previous 2 weeks. The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) was used to evaluate patients’ QOL. Patients were also assessed for anxiety and depression with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used for evaluation of sleep quality and sleep disturbances. Results: In our CU patients the mean of UAS7 score was 39.72 ± 2.76 and the mean of VAS score was 28 ± 1.34. The mean of DLQI score was 24.8 ± 4.37 indicating severe impact of QOL. CU patients had higher total HADS score when compared to controls; 72% of the patients had depression and 92% had anxiety. By using PSQI, CU patients had significantly longer sleep latency onset, shorter total sleep duration, lower sleep efficiency and higher PSQI scores compared to controls. Conclusion: CU highly affects the QOL of patients and is associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression and poor sleep quality.
Background Stevens‐Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and overlap SJS/TEN are life‐threatening diseases that are most frequently caused by drugs. Much debate remains about the role of systemic corticosteroids (SCs) in their treatment. Our aim to determine the incidence, causative drugs, the role and side effects of SCs in severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs), in Assiut University Hospital (AUH). Patients This study was conducted in Department of Dermatology at AUH, from 2012 to 2017. All patients with SJS, overlap SJS/TEN and TEN admitted during this period were included in the study. Results Eighty three patients with SCARs were included in this study. The most common type was SJS (67.5%). The incidence ranged from 1.7% in 2012 to 7.7% in 2017. Carbamazepine, valproic acid, lamotrigine, diclofenac sodium, and flucloxacillin‐amoxicillin were the most common causative drugs. The most common side effects of SCs were peptic ulcer (55.5%) and hypertension (51.8%). The mortality rate in patients treated with SCs was 100% in TEN, 33.3% in overlap SJS/TEN and 16.3% in SJS. Conclusion The patients of SCARs must be aware of the causative drugs and must never be re‐administered. SCs in treatment of SCARs may increase the complications and the mortality rate.