Backgound:Besides the relief of symptoms, the main purpose of any treatment must be to ensure a better quality of life (QOL). Mere recording of symptoms reveals their severity and frequency, but gives scant information on its effect on QOL.Aim:The study was designed to assess QOL in Indian patients with chronic urticaia (CU).Subjects and Methods:We used the validated CU-QOL by Bairadani et al., consisting of five domains and each domain consisting of several items. Each item was scored from 1 to 5 (score 5 = most affected, score 1 = not affected).Criteria for Inclusion:Patients having symptoms of rash and pruritis on most of the days for at least 6 weeks were enrolled.Criteria for Exclusion:If the individuals had CU secondary to any other disease, they were excluded.Results:We enrolled 48 patients. The means of the domains, the items, and the frequency of occurrence of an item were tabulated. The highest mean scores were in the domains of symptoms, followed by sleep disturbances, life activities, looks, and limits. The highest mean scores for the items were for pruritis and wheals followed by sleep disturbances, mood changes, nervousness, embarrassment, fatigue, loss of concentration, reduced work, and social relationships. We also observed a significant relationship among individual items. It is possible that they may have an additive effect.Conclusions:Even though CU significantly affected many items, patients were rarely aware of them. There was a significant inter-item correlation, suggesting that items might be aggravating each other. It is important to address the issues regarding QOL along with symptoms for better management of CU.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an allergen-induced inflammation of the nasal mucosa. Several studies have shown a link not only between AR and asthma but also with other co-morbid conditions. It is important to recognize the onset and existence of these co-morbid conditions, for adequate treatment, prevention of the development of new allergen sensitizations and air-way hypersensitivities. This is a prospective study of co-morbid conditions in adults with AR, from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and compares them with those in children 23 consecutive children below 6 years (Group 1), 42 children between age of 6 years and 14 years in Group 2 and 57 adults in Group 3 were selected for the symptoms of AR (sneezing, watering and blocked nose), which were currently sufficiently troublesome to require medication. A high association of co-morbid conditions with AR was found. More than 80% suffered from one to three co-morbid conditions each. The most common co-morbid condition was asthma in all the groups. Often asthma and sinusitis was asymptomatic and a high degree of suspicion was needed for diagnosis. Adults had the highest prevalence of sinusitis and allergic conjunctivitis. Prevalence of urticaria was similar in children as well as adults. Studies with larger data samples are needed to confirm these associations.

Objective Our aim was to administer the MRQLQ Questionnaire in Indian adults with allergic rhino-conjunctivitis (ARc).Criteria for inclusion in the study Adults with chronic ARc, with suffi ciently troublesome current symptoms, attending The Allergy Clinic of The Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, during March-August 2006 were selected. ResultsThe fi ve highest PS were seen with sneezing 290, irritation 238, running nose 228, stuffy nose 220, anxiety 203 and interrupted working 203. The 5 lowest PS were seen with disturbed sleep 83, dry throat 98, affected walking for ½ kilometre 98, do not sleep deeply 103 and phlegm 105. DiscussionThe fi ve highest PS were due to symptoms of rhinitis, general irritation, anxiety & interruption of work.Thus rhinitis itself affects QOL. The 5 least PS were mainly sleep-related. ConclusionWe have applied the MRQLQ on Indian patients with ARc. We could obtain a product score for every item in it, on the basis of which we could classify the degree of its effect on his QOL. PS was highest in rhinitis-related symptoms. 2 Emotions related and 1 Role limitation item gave moderate PS, while all PS in eye related, Physical functioning, Social functioning, Sleep-related & Other Symptoms items were in the mild range. Larger data sample is needed to validate and show its discriminatory power.