Angioedema with normal laboratory values: the next step

Janelle Sher1, Mark Davis-Lorton

  • 1Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology, Winthrop University, 120 Mineola Blvd., Suite 410, Mineola, NY, 11501, USA, jsher@winthrop.org.

When faced with a patient with recurrent swelling, a thorough laboratory evaluation to determine the underlying etiology ensues. When the laboratory work-up is unrevealing, health care practitioners are frequently left in a quandary. This review will attempt to provide up-to-date information on how to approach the diagnosis and management of angioedema in a patient with normal laboratory values. The subtypes that will be reviewed in detail include: hereditary angioedema with normal C1 inhibitor (HAE with normal C1INH), drug-induced angioedema, and idiopathic angioedema. We present literature to aid the physician in the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders.

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