en Dermatology Dermatology Original Research Original Research <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="font-style:italic"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">Background: </span></span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">Many drugs have been found to be effective in treating chronic urticaria, and many others are under investigation. Second-generation antihistamines are the first-line treatment for this condition, as they block peripheral histamine receptors with minimal drowsiness and anticholinergic effects. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate the short-term efficacy and safety of bilastine in Iraqi patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="font-style:italic"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; Methods:</span></span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal"> This prospective study was conducted at Dermatology Unit/ AL-Diwaniyah Teaching Hospital/ Iraq during the period from January to June 2023. A total of 100 patients, 50 males and 50 females, were enrolled in this study. All these patients were switched over to Bilastine 20 mg/day for one month. The patients were evaluated using the UAS7 scoring system before and one month after bilastine therapy. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, and a paired t-test was used to compare between means. The level of statistical significance was considered at a </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">P</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal"> value < 0.05. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Results:</b> The mean UAS7 score before Bilastine treatment was 18.91 &plusmn;7.18, which was significantly reduced (</span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">P</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal"> < 0.001) to 2.38 &plusmn;0.72 after one month of treatment with bilastine. Also, before Bilastine treatments, 19 patients (19%) had mild symptoms, 24 patients (24%) had moderate symptoms, and 57 patients (57%) had severe symptoms. However, after treatment, 51 patients (51%) became symptom-free and 49 patients (49%) had well-controlled urticaria. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Conclusion:</b> Switching over to bilastine 20mg/day resulted in significant improvement in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria who had no/ or poor response to conventional antihistamines. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""><span style="font-style:italic">&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span><br> &nbsp; Antihistamines, Bilastine, Histamine Receptors, Pharmacology, Urticaria 869 873 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-8731-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Farah Abdul-Reda farah.s.abdulreda@qu.edu.iq 200319475328460089632 200319475328460089632 No Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of AL-Qadisiyah, AL-Diwaniyah, Iraq Mohammed AH Jabarah AL-Zobaidy mohammed.a@comed.uobaghdad.edu.iq 200319475328460089633 200319475328460089633 Yes Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq