Discussion
In this study, across all strata, patients with CU demonstrated
significant interest in using an app for monitoring their disease
activity and control. Being female, higher education, and having both
CSU and CIndU were important drivers of this interest.
Given our findings, there is a clear unmet need for well-developed apps,
particular for CU disease type, that could comprehensively document
patients’ daily disease activity (triggers, QoL, comorbidities,
consequences) and accurately account for disease control or lack
thereof. Apps could also provide detailed and unique data about each
patient, which would enable practitioners to develop and implement
individualized treatment plans and adapt quickly according to disease
course. Yet, while most CU patients are highly interested in using apps
to document their condition, suitable ones which would thoroughly assess
their condition are limited in number, function, geographical reach, and
none covered comorbidities; importantly only one app noted by Anto et al
assessed disease control.3
Our study included a large sample of patients and utilized a network of
researchers across the world. However, the study design was
cross-sectional and therefore cause-and-effect relationships could not
be detected; in addition, while the questionnaire was developed by
experts worldwide, it has not been confirmed in validation studies to
date.