[Astemizole in urticaria--a multicenter study by 412 established dermatologists].

In the course of a multicenter study on 2122 patients treated by 412 dermatologists in general practice, we investigated the effect of astemizole (Hismanal) on urticaria. During 2 weeks of treatment with astemizole 10 mg daily, the percentage of the patients with severe or moderate affection dropped from 82.4% to 9.1%, while the figure of the patients with severe or moderate pruritus decreased from 83.9% to 7.8%. In 74% of the patients, the onset of action occurred during the first 24 hours. The peak of effect was reached within the first day in 36.6% of the patients, and within 2 days in 57.5% of the patients. The physicians observed an excellent outcome in 44.4% and good results in 31.9% of the patients. The therapeutic success was considered moderate in 12.0% and unsatisfactory in 9.6% of the cases. The incidence of side effects was very low, i.e., 5.4%. Slight sedation was observed in 1.9% of the cases.