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Omalizumab-Associated Post-Injection Urticaria Exacerbation and Urticaria-Related Adverse Reactions During Treatment for Chronic Urticaria: A Scoping Review

Tawanwongsri W, Jaruvijitrattana P, Eden C

Life (Basel, Switzerland), 2026

Abstract

Background/objectives: Omalizumab is an effective treatment for antihistamine-refractory chronic urticaria. However, post-injection urticaria exacerbation and related adverse reactions remain inconsistently reported. This scoping review mapped evidence on clinical presentation, timing, mechanisms, management strategies, rechallenge outcomes, treatment discontinuation, and patient outcomes associated with these reactions.

Methods: The review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and was registered prospectively in INPLASY (INPLASY202650060). PubMed, Scopus, and the Directory of Open Access Journals were searched from inception to April 2026. Eligible studies included English-language case reports, case series, observational studies, cohort studies, registry or pharmacovigilance studies, postmarketing surveillance studies, and clinical trials reporting urticaria-related or hypersensitivity-type adverse reactions during omalizumab treatment for chronic urticaria. Data were charted descriptively and synthesized narratively.

Results: Seventeen studies published between 2015 and 2026 included 2790 patients with chronic urticaria, 60 of whom experienced urticaria-related adverse reactions, corresponding to a mapped proportion of 2.2%. Clinical phenotypes included transient urticaria exacerbation, urticaria flare or worsening, localized urticarial plaques at the injection area, angioedema, anaphylaxis or anaphylaxis-like reactions, and serum sickness-like reactions.…

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