HISTAMINE LEVELS IN INTERSTITIAL FLUID OF LESIONAL AND PERILESIONAL SKIN IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC IDIOPATHIC URTICARIA

In 8 patients with idiopathic chronic urticaria suction blisters were produced simultaneously on lesional and perilesional skin in the periumbilical area without application of heat. The suction pressure was 250 mm Hg, and thus the blister production lasted from 60-120 min. The blister fluid histamine was determined with a modified autoanalyzer technique developed by Siraganian. In this method the extraction of histamine, the condensation of o-phthaldialdehyde with histamine and the measurement of the fluorochrome is automated. With the described method it is possible to measure values less than 0.5 ng/ml. Histamine levels in perilesional skin were nearly in the same range as in the periumbilical skin of 10 normal persons. The range of the normal tissue fluid histamine levels was 0-15 ng/ml and they did not differ significantly from the plasma levels. In all 8 patients with chronic urticaria the histamine values were higher in lesional than in perilesional skin. In 1 patient the lesional blister fluid histamine value reached 35.5 ng/ml. Four of the patients showed only low differences (less than 3 ng/ml). © 1979 Springer-Verlag.