An Efficacy and Safety Study of Desloratadine (MK-4117) in Japanese Participants With Chronic Urticaria (MK-4117-201)

The Investigator assessed the severity of participant pruritus/itch during the daytime (0=Virtually no itching to 4=Cannot relax because of constant itching) and nighttime (0=Virtually no itching to 4=Cannot sleep because of itching). The score used for pruritus/itch was the higher of the day or night scores (0=Asymptomatic to 4=Severe). The Investigator also assessed the severity of participant rash using the overall rash score (0=No rash to 3=Looks very bad). The sum of the pruritus/itch score (0-4) and rash score (0-3) could range from 0 to 7, with a higher sum score indicating greater severity. The change from Baseline in the sum of the pruritus/itch and overall rash scores at the Week 2 clinic visit was calculated.

An AE is any unfavourable and unintended sign (including an abnormal laboratory finding), symptom, or disease temporally associated with the use of a study drug or protocol-specified procedure, whether or not considered related to the study drug or protocol-specified procedure. Any worsening (i.e., any clinically significant adverse change in frequency and/or intensity) of a pre-existing condition that is temporally associated with the use of the study drug, is also an AE.

An AE is any unfavourable and unintended sign (including an abnormal laboratory finding), symptom, or disease temporally associated with the use of a study drug or protocol-specified procedure, whether or not considered related to the study drug or protocol-specified procedure. Any worsening (i.e., any clinically significant adverse change in frequency and/or intensity) of a pre-existing condition that is temporally associated with the use of the study drug, is also an AE.

The Investigator assessed the severity of participant pruritus/itch during the daytime (0=Virtually no itching to 4=Cannot relax because of constant itching) and nighttime (0=Virtually no itching to 4=Cannot sleep because of itching). The score used for pruritus/itch was the higher of the day or night scores (0=Asymptomatic to 4=Severe). The Investigator also assessed the severity of participant rash using the overall rash score (0=No rash to 3=Looks very bad). The sum of the pruritus/itch score (0-4) and rash score (0-3) could range from 0 to 7, with a higher sum score indicating greater severity. The changes from Baseline in the sum of the pruritus/itch and overall rash scores at the Day 3 and Week 1 clinic visits were calculated.

The Investigator assessed the severity of participant pruritus/itch during the daytime and nighttime (0=Asymptomatic to 4=Severe). The sum of the daytime and nighttime pruritus/itch scores could range from 0 to 8, with a higher score indicating greater severity. The changes from Baseline in the sum of the daytime and nighttime scores at the Day 3, Week 1 and Week 2 clinic visits were calculated.

The Investigator assessed the severity of participant rash (erythema: 0=no symptom to 3=intensive redness, and wheal: 0=no symptom to 3=significant ridge). The sum score for erythema plus wheal could range from 0 to 6, with a higher score indicating greater severity. The changes from Baseline in the sum score for erythema plus wheal at the Day 3, Week 1 and Week 2 clinic visits were calculated.

The global improvement judgment criteria were used to assess overall improvement in pruritus/itch and rash. The Investigator assessed participant global improvement according to 5 grades (Grade 1=Remarkable improvement to Grade 5=Aggravated). The number of participants with moderate or remarkable improvements was calculated. Remarkable improvement (Grade 1) was defined as both pruritus/itch and rash (erythema and wheal) disappeared, or pruritus/itch disappeared and rash (erythema and wheal) was apparently improved. Moderate improvement (Grade 2) was defined as both pruritus/itch and rash (erythema and wheal) were greatly improved.

Participants assessed the severity of their pruritus/itch during the daytime and nighttime (0=asymptomatic to 4=severe). The sum of the daytime and nighttime pruritus/itch scores could range from 0 to 8, with a higher score indicating greater severity. The changes from Baseline in the sum of the daytime and nighttime scores at the Day 3, Week 1 and Week 2 clinic visits were calculated.

Participants assessed the degree of their pruritus/itching using a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) (0 mm=No itch to 100 mm=Worst imaginable itch), with a higher score indicating more severe itching. The changes from Baseline in participant-assessed pruritus/itch at the Day 3, Week 1 and Week 2 clinic visits were calculated.

Participants assessed the severity of their rash (erythema: 0=no symptom to 3=intensive redness, and wheal: 0=no symptom to 3=significant ridge). The sum score for erythema plus wheal could range from 0 to 6, with a higher score indicating greater severity. The changes from Baseline in the sum score for erythema plus wheal at the Day 3, Week 1 and Week 2 clinic visits were calculated.

The DLQI is a 10-item questionnaire that measures how much participant skin problems have affected their life. Responses to questions about the effect of participant skin problems on life ranged from 0=Not at all to 3=Very much. The DLQI is broken down into 6 subscales: Symptoms and feelings (range 0-6), Daily activities (range 0-6), Leisure (range 0-6), Work and school (range 0-3), Personal relationships (range 0-6), and Treatment (range 0-3). DLQI subscales were summed to yield the DLQI total score, which could range from 0 to 30. For both DLQI subscales and DLQI total score, a higher score indicated a greater negative impact on life. Participants >=16 years of age completed the DLQI questionnaire about the condition of their skin over the previous week. The changes from Baseline in the DLQI total score at the Week 1 and Week 2 clinic visits were calculated.