Abstract
Contact dermatitis is a well-known skin condition, which is related to stimuli and environmental exposure to chemicals, affecting all ages as well as both genders. In the present work, we attempt to investigate the patterns of contact sensitization, with respect to the personal history of atopy (AT), in Greece in a large number of allergens, using patch testing. The retrospective analysis included clinical routine data of 1978 patients collected from 2014 to 2016 in the Laboratory of Patch Testing, National Referral Centre of Occupational Dermatoses. Sensitization, in all cases, was tested with 28 allergens of the European baseline series as adjusted to our local circumstances and clinical experience. A total population of 1978 patients was evaluated, with a male-to-female ratio of 0.45 (1359 females/619 males). From our patient cohort, 693 (35%) patients were evaluated with a history of atopy, while 1285 (65%) were nonatopic. The five most prevalent allergens in the total population without AT were nickel sulphate 5% (15.47%), fragrance mix (I) 8% (9.10%), balsam of Peru (6.47%), cobalt chloride 1% (4.70%), and thiomersal 0.1% (4.10%). Respectively, in the total population with AT, the five most prevalent allergens were nickel sulphate 5% (10.36%), fragrance mix (I) 8% (5.11%), balsam of Peru (3.29%), thiomersal 0.1% (3.03%), and cobalt chloride 1% (2.78%). Contact dermatitis surveillance is of great importance towards the clinical and systematic understanding of the disease. Further studies should be directed towards that end, in order to facilitate more effective health policies.
Highlights
Contact dermatitis is a common skin disorder related to environmental exposures affecting all age groups as well as both genders
Discussion e most prevalent allergens in AT patients were found to be nickel sulphate, fragrance mix (I) 8%, balsam of Peru, thiomersal, and cobalt chloride. is finding was in agreement with previous studies which reported that nickel sulphate was the most prevalent allergen in patient cohorts [38,39,40]
Similar results have been previously reported for fragrance mix [41,42,43], balsam of Peru [44,45,46,47], thiomersal [48], and cobalt chloride [44, 49, 50]. e relation of atopies and atopic dermatitis/atopies to allergen sensitization has been discussed in the literature mostly for pediatric
Summary
Contact dermatitis is a common skin disorder related to environmental exposures affecting all age groups as well as both genders. Is method (patch testing) consists of a very practical test, which facilitates the evaluation and diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis through the skin exposure to the responsible allergens. E pattern of contact sensitization to a series of allergens included in the European baseline series has already been studied for a number of EU countries by the ESSCA Network [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. Patch test results often vary between departments and laboratories, as well as between countries Such variations may be partly attributable to systematic effects introduced by patient characteristics, differing exposures, patient selection, or methodological differences. Recommendations of the European Society of Contact Dermatitis (ESCD) are regarded through appropriate changes for specific conditions of exposure in Greece according to labor, commercial, social, and national habits [2, 13]
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