Impact of chronic urticaria on the quality of life of patients followed up at a university hospital.

Background:: Chronic urticaria is a debilitating disease that considerably affects health-related quality of life, and the Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire is the only questionnaire specifically designed for its evaluation.

Objective:: To evaluate the quality of life of patients with chronic urticaria, using the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire.

Methods:: The Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire was self-administered in 112 chronic urticaria patients and disease activity was assessed through the Urticaria Activity Score.

Translation and validation of Portuguese of a questionnaire for evaluation of psychosomatic symptoms in adults with atopic dermatitis.

Background: atopic dermatitis is directly related to psychological stress, reduced quality of life and psychosomatic symptoms. The Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis is the only questionnaire developed specifically for assessment of psychosomatization in atopic dermatitis.

Objectives: the objective of this study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate a Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis.

Small bowel of patients with asthma and allergic rhinitis: absence of inflammation despite the presence of major cellular components of allergic inflammation.

Eosinophils participate in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract and the gut. We investigated the constitutive presence of eosinophils and mononuclear cells in the macroscopically normal duodenal mucosa of patients with asthma and allergic rhinitis. Macroscopically normal duodenal specimens were obtained at routine endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal symptoms from 16 patients with asthma and 13 patients with allergic rhinitis.