Novartis, a global healthcare company based in Switzerland and a true champion of providing solutions to address the evolving needs of patients worldwide, has sponsored this two-day event and managed by Medetarian Conferences Organizing (MCO), the leading expert in healthcare events management in the UAE.

On day one, Thursday, January 24, 2021, we finally came to see some of these (webinar!) doctors in person who graced the actual podium with their wit and scientific wisdom as they shared their most awaited cases to shed light amongst clinicians and physicians especially in the field of allergy and clinical immunology.

“It gives me great pleasure to see you here actually after how many months (a year and a half, almost) at this point since our last meeting in Abu Dhabi which was around January or February last year. We're delighted to come back and meet face to face. I think every one of us has hybrid-webinarnemia at this point (You know webinars). So hopefully the world is going back to normality. We've done this meeting as a hybrid. We have about 44 attendees with us online and this is a great number and we have several here about ten or twelve.” – Prof. Mohamed Abuzakouk

Dr. Hussain Hattawi, Consultant and Head of Allergy and Immunology at Dubai Hospital, UAE has presented the first case on Chronic Urticaria. With his profound clinical knowledge on the subject itself, Dr. Hussain delivered exceptionally the talk in which he argued that up to 20% of people have 1 form of urticaria at least once during their lives and the approach and evaluation for the chronic form are different from the acute episodic one. By etymology, Dr. Hussain stressed that Urticaria comes from the plant Urtica Dioica (Stinging Nettle) which causes hives with contact to the skin. He supplemented his lecture by presenting a special case of a 48-year old with Acute Urticaria that started 2 months previously. In his summary, he suggested the direct treatment of Xolair (Omalizumab), a medication used to treat asthma, nasal polyps, and urticaria.

Dr. Hamad Al Hameli, Pediatric Allergy Consultant at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE, and a prominent webinar speaker of the Emirates Thoracic Society (ETS), has discussed the topic of Diagnostic Dilemma. Dr. Hamad, with his in-depth and clear analysis of this visual case presentation, was able to capture the essence of adverse food reaction which according to him relates to any reproducible reaction to a food with a specific classification.

Dr. Hamad also highlighted the efficacy of Omalizumab in which the treatment process of Omalizumab 300 mg SC to a patient has brought enjoyment again in eating a cheeseburger.

Prof. Mohamed Abuzakouk himself, Head of Department, Allergy, and Immunology at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE has also shared his expertise as an immunologist as he presented a case which he titled as How Effective Is Omalizumab In Other Forms of Severe Unusual Urticaria. In his lecture, he cited a 33-year old male patient with recurrent skin rashes without any family history. He examined the case through various investigations and diagnoses. He concluded that Omalizumab is an effective and safe treatment modality for severe forms of urticaria including urticarial vasculitis and reduction frequency of treatment should be considered on all patients and lastly UCT is an invaluable assessment tool in clinical practice.

During the round table discussion moderated by Dr. Ravi Gutta, Dr. Hussain, Dr. Hamad, and Prof. Mohamed were back in the spotlight to address the Group’s most searing scientific questions as part of the course of the continuing medical knowledge within the allergy specialist circle. We’re able to hear great insights from Dr. Ahmed Ali Elghoudi, Dr. Suliman Al Hamadi, Dr. Emad Arafa, Dr. Hiba Shendi, Dr. Stuart Carr, Dr. Ameera Al Ali, Dr. Eiman Mahmoud, Dr. Basil Naserallah, Dr. Marilyn Karam, Dr. Ahmed Mohsen Ahmed Ameen, Dr. Fulvio Salvo, and Dr. David Cremonesini who contributed to the success of the recurring event.

On day two, Friday, January 25, 2021, Prof. Suleiman Al-Hammadi, Dean of College of Medicine at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE has moderated the sessions as a Co-Chairperson.

“I'm sure that everybody enjoyed the talk yesterday. It was really enjoyable and the time just went quickly and for that reason let's start on time today. It is my great pleasure to introduce my friend Dr. Ravi to us. I know Ravi for about two years now. It seems that our theme for this meeting is merely Urticaria. So let's continue with Urticaria but with a different type of talk today: Chronic Urticaria Review for Allergy and Immunology Specialty. Very interesting title. Let's hear from you, Dr. Ravi.” - Prof. Suleiman Al-Hammadi

Dr. Ravi Gutta, Consultant, Allergy and Immunology at Mediclinic City Hospital, Dubai, UAE, on the podium for both physical and online delegates, has presented his talk on Chronic Urticaria Review for Allergy and Immunology Specialty. One of his main objectives was to review the definition, epidemiology, etiology, and pathogenesis of chronic urticaria. He also outlined an approach for evaluation and treatment of patients with urticarial and elaborated on evidence, safety for Omalizumab Therapy for chronic urticarial. By definition, Chronic Urticaria is a wheal flare reaction i.e., erythematous base with raised or flat or plaque-like skin lesion with complete remission with skin back to normalcy with recurrent pattern lasting more than 6 weeks. Based on its natural history, 60-70% of cases spontaneous remission may occur in 6-8 months, hence called chronic spontaneous urticarial as accepted nomenclature.

Dr. Eiman Mahmoud, Clinical Immunology Specialist at Zayed Military Hospital, UAE, has discussed the Efficacy and Safety of Omalizumab in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria, Cleveland Clinic Experience in which in her introduction she stipulated that the study represents the first trial in the Middle East and North Africa region to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Omalizumab as add-on therapy for the treatment in adult patients with chronic urticaria, who are symptomatic despite high dose of antihistamine treatment. Dr. Eiman also in her main objective was to assess the effectiveness of Omalizumab in treatment and control of Chronic Urticaria in which she argued further that this is a retrospective study carried out at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in the period between September 2015 and September 2018 and was approved by the hospital research ethics committee. She also supplemented in her research based on a study population that there are 79 patients with Chronic Urticaria diagnosed for more than 6 months and refractory to conventional treatment were enrolled in the said study. Thus, in conclusion, Omalizumab is proven to be very effective in controlling urticarial symptoms even immediately after the 1st dose and IgE could be a useful test in expecting Omalizumab response.

Dr. Ameera Al Ali, Dermatology Resident at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City Abu Dhabi (SKMC), UAE has given us a timely and relevant discussion called Unusual Skin Reactions to SARS COVD 19 Vaccine. She cited right away a case of a 55-year old female with a known case of Recurrent Orolabilal and suffered from a palmoplantar rash after the COVID vaccine. In her visual clinical presentation, Dr. Ameera was able to provide illuminating facts, nay, updates related to Palmoplantar pustular psoriasis. Thus, she recapitulated the entirety of her case presentation by affirming that Psoriasis is multifactorial disease and the benefit of COVID vaccination outweighs the possible adverse effect of inducing or flaring of psoriasis and lastly COVID vaccine could be added as a possible triggering factor for new (onset psoriasis).

For the Novartis symposium, a non-CME accredited talk, Dr. Ahmed Mohsen Ahmed Ameen, Specialist Dermatologist, and Venereologist at NMC Specialty Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE, has discussed Xolair in CSU…from A to Z. As previously defined, Xolair is a brand name and a medication used to treat asthma, nasal polyps, and urticaria. Dr. Ahmed stressed that CSU dramatically affects every aspect of patients’ lives. He also highlighted that Chronic urticaria has a similar impact to moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Thus, as a treatment, Xolair has been considered as the Main Key Player in which in 2014, it was licensed in the US and EU for chronic spontaneous urticaria unresponsive to antihistamine and the approved dose is 300 mg every 4 weeks in patients 12 years old or older as a subcutaneous injection. According to Dr. Ahmed, Xolair increases total IgE levels, while decreasing free IgE levels by more than 95%.

The second day of the Group Meeting 2021 was concluded with new fruitful awareness and knowledge as Prof. Suleiman Al-Hammadi and Prof. Mohamed Abuzakouk handed the certificate of appreciation to all speakers.

Complement this Group Meeting 2021 with Allergy and Clinical Immunology Webinar held on June 23, 2021, then register for more Emirates Thoracic Society (ETS) Scientific Meetings at https://mco.ae/ETSmeetings/

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