Introduction:

skin lesions are a common cause of emergency consultation. Urticaria should be considered a clinical symptom and not a disease in itself, therefore it is important to recognize its presentation, severity and possible etiologies in order to define appropriate and timely treatment.

Objective:

describe the prevalence, clinical, etiological and evolutionary characteristics of urticaria alone or accompanied by angioedema and / or anaphylaxis at the Emergency Department of the Pereira Rossell Pediatric Hospital between 7/1/2015- 6/31/2016.

Materials and methods:

retrospective study carried out through the review of medical records. All children diagnosed with urticaria were included. Variables: age, gender, clinical characteristics, etiologies, tests, treatments, evolution.

Results:

the prevalence of urticarial consultation was 0.8% (405 / 51,829), males 54.2%; median age 4.3 years (22 days - 14 years). Skin symptoms only 69.6%; without angioedema 83.4%, apyrectic 73.4%, anaphylactic: two cases. Etiology: infectious 29.5%; 78% respiratory infections. At least 1 complementary test was prescribed in 16.8% of the cases. Treatments: 100% antihistamines, 45.2% corticosteroids, 0.8% adrenaline (2 cases of anaphylaxis). 96.8% were discharged and 3.2% were hospitalized, no deaths took place.

Conclusion:

urticaria accounted for 0.8% of the consultations recorded. Children under 3 years of age were the most affected group by urticaria mostly without angioedema. The most common etiology was infectious. A low percentage of patients were hospitalized. Anaphylactic shock should be considered for the case of children with hemodynamic failure and skin lesions. Support measures and early adrenaline administration improve prognosis.

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