The relationship between chronic urticaria and hepatitis B virus infection.

Objective To investigate the relationship between chronic urticaria and hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection.Methods HBV was tested in 150 patients of chronic urticaria and 100 healthy controls.The clinic features of chronic urticaria patients with HBV were characterized.Results 19.3% of patients with chronic urticaria were positive for HBsAg,while it was only 10% in control group.HbsAg positive rate in patients with chronic urticaria was significantly higher than that in control group(Pearson χ2=3.970,P0.05).There was a significant difference between the patients with HBV and those without HBV in terms of clinical course and area of wheal.Conclusions Chronic urticaria is associated with HBV infection.Patients of chronic urticaria with HBV infection have longer clinical course and larger area of wheal.