الفهرس 
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Abstract
Urticaria appears as raised, well-circumscribed areas of erythema (redness) and edema (swelling) involving the dermis and epidermis that are very pruritic (itchy. Acute urticaria can be caused by allergic reactions to foods, drugs, cosmetics, or soaps; infections; insect bites, stings, or exposure; environmental factors; latex; undue skin pressure, cold, or heat; emotional stress; and exercise, among other factors. It may be acute (< 6 wk) or chronic (>6 wk).
It is estimated that up to 15%-25% of adults experience at least 1 episode of acute urticaria (AU) during their life time. A populationbased questionnaire survey showed that the lifetime prevalence rate of urticaria in adults was 8.8% for all types of urticaria, whereas the prevalence of chronic urticaria (CU) in the general population has been estimated to range from 0.5% to 5%.
The aim of work to describe the different epidemiological and Clinical features of urticaria in adult and pediatric population.
This study was designed as a cross sectional study conducted on 202 patients selected from outpatient clinics of rheumatology, dermatology in Menoufia University and the Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology Unit, Ain Shams University Hospitals in the period from September 2021 to June 2023. All patients were subjected to medical history taking, clinical examination and laboratory evaluation.
The present study revealed that:
1. There was female predominance in patients with acute and chronic urticaria.
2. There was significant difference between patients with acute and chronic urticaria regarding triggers. (P value = 0.002) Drug trigger was predominant in acute urticaria while physical triggers were predominant in chronic urticaria. 3. There was significant difference between adult and pediatric patients with acute urticaria regarding response to antihistamines. Pediatric patients with acute urticaria had a better response to antihistaminic. (P value = 0.05) 4. There was no significant difference between adult and pediatric patients with acute urticaria in terms of sex, distribution, triggers of urticaria, associated allergies, and family history of urticaria and response to GC. 5. There was significant difference between adult and children in chronic urticaria regarding triggers. (P value <0.0001) About 23.8 % of pediatric patients were triggered by food and 52.4% were idiopathic while 36 % of adult triggered by physical agents. 6. There was no significant statistical difference between adult and pediatric with chronic urticaria regarding sex, itching, distribution, associated allergies, family history, associated disease, investigations, response to antihistaminic, need and response to immunosuppressive, need for biologics. 7. There was significant statistical difference between adult and pediatric in chronic urticaria regarding response to GC. Pediatric patients had a better response to steroid therapy than adults. (P value = 0.04) 8. Angioedema was associated with 40.5% of AU patients. 9. There was significant difference between patients with and without angioedema regarding age, triggers, family history and response to antihistamines.