Impact of Pharmacological Treatments for Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria with an Inadequate Response to H1-Antihistamines on Health-Related Quality of Life: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

Recently, pharmacological treatment options for H1-antihistamine-refractory chronic spontaneous urticaria have increased dramatically; however, their effects on patient-reported outcomes, including health-related quality of life (HRQOL), remain unclear.To compare the impact of these treatments on HRQOL among H1-antihistamine-refractory patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.We completed a comprehensive search of the available literature in the electronic databases, gray literature, and preprint reports up to April 19, 2021, with no language restrictions. The primary outcome for evaluation was a change in HRQOL from the baseline, and secondary outcomes included patient unacceptability and other patient-reported outcomes. We used a random-effects network meta-analysis and estimated differences in standardized mean differences (SMDs) and odds ratios with 95% CIs. Evidence-based synthesis was based on magnitudes of effect size, evidence certainty, ranking of treatment effects, and clinically meaningful improvement.Twelve randomized controlled trials encompassing 1866 adolescent and adult patients were included. Our evidence synthesis analyses revealed that hydroxychloroquine (SMD, -1.00 [-1.61 to -0.39]), 72 mg ligelizumab (SMD, -0.66 [-0.96 to -0.35]), 240 mg ligelizumab (SMD, -0.67 [-0.98 to -0.37]), and 300 mg omalizumab (SMD, -0.53 [-0.67 to -0.39]) significantly improved HRQOL with a moderate beneficial effect. However, the use of hydroxychloroquine seems to be limited by a higher risk of patient unacceptability of treatment. Other secondary outcomes remain inconclusive based on the available evidence.Both ligelizumab (72 or 240 mg) and 300 mg omalizumab appeared to be effective treatments for H1-antihistamine-refractory chronic spontaneous urticaria, because they were closely associated with improved HRQOL.