Objectives:

The present study intends to understand the association between Helicobacter pylori infection and chronic idiopathic urticaria.

Methods:

We studied 30 patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria diagnosed for H. pylori infection with the urea breath test using carbon 14, 22 patients were infected and received triple eradication therapy (amoxicilin, claritromicin and omeprazol) and antihistamine (loratadine); and eight noninfected individuals received only antihistamine treatment. Serum concentrations of total IgE and specific IgG against H. pylori was determined. In addition, we standardised an ELISA to detect specific IgE against H. pylori, at time 0 and 6 weeks after concluding treatment.

Results:

Bacteria was eradicated in all the patients infected, with variable clinical improvement (14 without clinical signs, eight with partial clinical signs); patients without H. pylori infection fail to improve after treatment.

Conclusions:

The present study established a statistical significant difference (P < 0.0001) between the eradication of H. pylori infection and the improvement of clinical signs for chronic idiopathic urticaria, when compared with the noninfected group. In patients with moderate symptoms, we observed the best treatment response with clinical improvement (P = 0.0083). There were not statistically significances between the concentrations of total IgE, IgG anti H. pylori and the values for H. pylori-specific IgE, except in those patients with moderate partial improvement, where the H. pylori-specific IgE significantly diminished (P = 0.0286) after eradication. The eradication of H. pylori clearly improves chronic idiopathic urticaria, by an unknown mechanism independent of IgE.