Spectrum and Impact of Reported Side Effects of Omalizumab in Patients With Chronic Urticaria: A Long-Term Multicenter Real-World Study

    May 2025 in “ Clinical & Experimental Allergy ”
    Reineke Soegiharto, Esther Van der Wind, Mehran Alizadeh Aghdam, Jennifer Astrup Sørensen, Esmee van Lindonk, Fatih Demir, Nasser Mohammad Porras, Yoshimi Matsuo, Lea Kiefer, André C. Knulst, Marcus Maurer, Carla Ritchie, Michael Rudenko, Emek Kocatürk, Roberta Fachini Jardim Criado, Stamatios Gregoriou, Tatjana Bobylev, Andreas Kleinheinz, Shunsuke Takahagi, Michihiro Hide, Ana M. Giménez‐Arnau, Andaç Salman, Rabia Öztaş Kara, Bahar Sevimli Dikicier, Martijn B. A. van Doorn, Simon Francis Thomsen, J. M. P. A. van den Reek, Heike Röckmann
    TLDR Omalizumab is generally safe for chronic urticaria, but hair loss is a common side effect.
    This study on 1,859 patients with chronic urticaria treated with omalizumab across 14 centers found that 32.9% reported side effects, with fatigue, headache, and flu-like symptoms being most common. Notably, 2.9% reported hair loss, a higher rate than previously documented. Despite side effects, only 2.4% discontinued treatment, confirming omalizumab's safety and tolerability. Side effects were more common in females and those with poorer disease control, suggesting a link to reduced treatment effectiveness. The study emphasizes the importance of monitoring hair loss and achieving complete disease control to minimize side effects, while noting variability in side effect reporting across centers.
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