Gabriela Gubo, Naďa Hučková, Laura Slezáková, Ľudovít Gašpa
Angioedema can be described as an acute pronounced swelling of the deep dermis/mucosa and subcutaneous/submucosal tis-sues resulting from vasodilatation and blood vessel permeability change. It is an urgent condition requiring fast and precise evaluation and diagnosis followed by immediate treatment. Angioedema can be congenital associated with C1-INH deficiency (HAE-1), C1-INH dysfunction (HAE-2) or normal blood levels of C1-INH (HAE-3). From a clinical perspective we can distinguish between bradykinin-induced angioedema, which is resistant to epinephrine, corticosteroid and antihistamines adminis-tration, and between mast cell mediators-induced angioedema, which is responsive to these stimuli. An acute attack should be treated according to the international guidelines for anaphylaxis treatment. The on-demand therapy of hereditary angioedema requires substitution of C1-INH. In long-term therapy and preprocedural prevention C1-INH derivatives, B2 bradykinin receptor antagonists – icatibant and kallikrein inhibitors – ecalantid are used.