[A questionnaire for patients with chronic urticaria; a diagnostic approach based on structured anamnesis]

In only a minority of chronic urticaria patients an underlying cause or illness can be detected. Previous studies demonstrated that detailed history taking is more important than routine laboratory investigations. To improve the process of history taking, the use of a detailed urticaria questionnaire is highly recommended. By using such a history-based diagnostic approach, the costs of laboratory investigations could be reduced from an average of 538 NLG per patient to 84 NLG per patient. The percentage of patients in whom a cause could be found increased from 29% to 53%. No severe underlying illnesses were missed by using this approach.