Abstract
The reproducibility of diagnostic patch testing is an important quality criterion which has been addressed by several studies. The reanalysis presented utilises data of a previous study of the German Contact Dermatitis Research Group (DKG) on the synchronous left versus right reproducibilty of patch testing with 10 allergens of the standard series, quantifying reproducibility with Cohen's K coefficient. The degree of concordance between dichotomised reactions at 72 hours (positive versus not positive) varies between allergens. The K coefficient was 0.80 and above for nickel sulphate, p-phenyl-enediamine, cobalt chloride and balsam of Peru, while for the two allergens tested in water, i.e., (chloro-) methylisothiazolinone and formaldehyde, it was below 0.70. Longer patch test exposure (48 hours compared to 24 hours) mostly improved concordance, which was, however, a significant effect only for potassium dichromate (p < 0,05). For the evaluation of concordance between chemically related allergens in terms of cross-reactivity, a quotient between the K coefficient found with the related allergens and the K coefficient found with the marker allergen involved (with synchronous duplicate application) is suggested.
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