Chronic Urticaria: A Swedish Registry-based Cohort Study on Population, Comorbidities and Treatment Characteristics.

Swedish databases present unique opportunities to research population data on diseases and treatments. The current study is, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive registry-based study on a chronic urticaria population in Sweden to date. The aim of this study was to describe the chronic urticaria population in Stockholm County regarding epidemiology, demographics, comorbidity, healthcare usage and treatment patterns in relation to current international guidelines. Real-world data were extracted between 2013 and 2019, yielding 10,642 adult patients. Study period prevalence of chronic urticaria was 0.53%, the mean annual incidence was approximately 0.08%, and 68% of patients were female. Regarding diagnosis, 58% were first diagnosed in primary care, approximately 50% were diagnosed before the age of 40 years. Regarding type of urticaria, 89% had chronic spontaneous urticaria, 11% had chronic inducible urticaria, and 5% of patients with chronic urticaria had coexisting angioedema. Common coexisting diagnoses were, for example, asthma, allergy, psychiatric and behavioural disorders and cardiometabolic disorders. Treatment patterns generally followed guidelines, yet data indicated that guidelines were not fully implemented, especially in primary care.

Morning glory disc anomaly in childhood - a population-based study.

PURPOSE: To report prevalence, ocular characteristics and coexisting neurological, behavioural, somatic and neuroradiological abnormalities in children and adolescents with morning glory disc anomaly (MGDA). METHODS: In a cross-sectional population-based study, 12 patients with MGDA, aged 2-20 years, were identified. All 12 agreed to ophthalmological assessments including visual functions, refraction, fundus photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and ocular motor score (OMS). Neurological examinations and behavioural/developmental screening were carried out. Data from previous or new neuroradiological investigations were collected. RESULTS: The prevalence of MGDA was 2.6/100 000. MGDA was unilateral in 11/12 patients with a best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the MGDA eye ranging from hand motion to 0.65 (median 0.06). Severe microphthalmus prevented unilaterality to be determined in one adolescent. All patients had a binocular BCVA of ≥0.5. OMS showed abnormalities in pupil response, vestibulo-ocular reflex, stereo visual acuity, strabismus and convergence. OCT revealed peripapillary or macular oedema in 5/8 patients and foveal aplasia in 3/8 patients. Three patients had extensive capillary hemangiomas, of which one had PHACES syndrome and one had additional cerebrovascular anomalies and corpus callosum agenesis. Neuroradiology showed craniovascular anomalies in two patients. Neurology was mostly normal. Behavioural/developmental screening showed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in one patient. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence data, previously not reported, of morning glory disc anomaly was 2.6/100 000. Coexisting retinal peripapillary or macular oedema was common, as were cerebral abnormalities and/or cutaneous vascular malformations. The associated findings may not be discovered through routine ophthalmological examination why OCT and neuroimaging are called for.