Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of subjects (per protocol analysis).
| CHM group n = 28 | Control group n = 28 | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | 0.158 | ||
| Male | 21 | 16 | |
| Female | 7 | 12 | |
| Age (years) | 41.5 (14.09) | 39.5 (13.92) | 0.595 |
| COMORBIDITIES | |||
| Head and neck | 2 | 3 | 1.000 |
| Respiratory system | 1 | 2 | 0.553 |
| Cardiovascular system | 2 | 1 | 0.553 |
| Gastrointestinal system | 1 | 0 | 0.313 |
| Musculoskeletal system | 0 | 3 | 0.075 |
| Endocrine system | 1 | 0 | 0.313 |
| Genitourinary system | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| Neurologic system | 0 | 1 | 0.313 |
| Food/drug allergy | 3 | 0 | 0.075 |
| Previous duration of urticaria (months) | 49.64 (69.06) | 69.14 (83.49) | 0.345 |
| Past medication history for urticaria | 11 | 7 | 0.146 |
| INITIAL PRESENTATION | |||
| UAS7 | 22.82 (9.29) | 22.11 (8.17) | 0.761 |
| DLQI | 8.54 (4.65) | 9.39 (4.71) | 0.496 |
| CAIS8 | 6.50 (4.03) | 7.04 (4.49) | 0.641 |
| SEROLOGIC MARKERS | |||
| IgE (IU/mL) | 241.75 (406.69) | 449.10 (817.79) | 0.235 |
| Eosinophil (103/μL) | 0.26 (0.23) | 0.20 (0.16) | 0.327 |
| WBC (103/μL) | 7.17 (2.30) | 7.34 (2.17) | 0.780 |
| Hb (g/dL) | 13.55 (1.39) | 14.31 (1.25) | 0.036* |
| AST (U/L) | 22.93 (6.89) | 22.39 (5.84) | 0.755 |
| ALT (U/L) | 21.86 (13.98) | 20.36 (10.24) | 0.649 |
| BUN (mg/dL) | 12.43 (2.73) | 12.98 (3.06) | 0.481 |
| Cr (mg/dL) | 0.68 (0.18) | 0.72 (0.18) | 0.383 |
| CRP (mg/L) | 3.56 (8.16) | 2.11 (3.50) | 0.393 |
*
Statistics evaluated using the t-test for continuous data and X2 test for categorical data.
Age, previous duration of urticaria, scores of initial presentations, and levels of serologic markers were presented as mean (standard deviation).
CHM, Chinese herbal medicine; UAS7, weekly urticaria activity score; DLQI, Dermatology Life Quality Index; CAIS8, Athens Insomnia Scale in the Chinese version; IgE, immunoglobulin E; WBC, white blood cell; Hb, hemoglobin; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; Cr, creatinine; CRP, C-reactive protein.