The Patch Test as a Useful Tool for Avoiding Suspected Allergens in Patients with Hand Eczema.
- Author:
Gun Wook KIM
1
;
Hoon Soo KIM
;
Su Han KIM
;
Do Sang JUNG
;
Hyun Chang KO
;
Moon Bum KIM
;
Kyung Sool KWON
Author Information
1. Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea. volland@medimail.co.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Allergic contact dermatitis;
Hand eczema;
Occupation;
Patch test
- MeSH:
Allergens;
Ammonia;
Ammonium Chloride;
Cobalt;
Dermatitis, Allergic Contact;
Eczema;
Eczema, Dyshidrotic;
Hand;
Humans;
Hypersensitivity;
Mercuric Chloride;
Nickel;
Occupations;
Patch Tests;
Skin Diseases
- From:Korean Journal of Dermatology
2010;48(1):26-32
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Hand eczema is a common skin disease in the general population. The etiology of hand eczema is obscure and many causative factors have been proposed. However, there are only a few reported studies of the relevance of contact allergy in hand eczema. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of the patch test for patients with hand eczema. METHODS: We analyzed the clinical characteristics and the results of the patch tests of the 37 patients with hand eczema and we then compared these with the clinical subtypes. RESULTS: 26 patients (70.3%) showed a positive test to one or more allergens. The common allergens were nickel sulfate (35.1%), mercury ammonium chloride (21.6%), and cobalt chloride (18.9%). The positive rates for a patch test were 82.4% for the vesicular form, 77.8% for the fissured form, 20.0% for the hyperkeratotic form and 66.7% for pompholyx, respectively. We found more significant improvement of the clinical symptoms in the vesicular group (57.1%) than that in the non-vesicular group (9.3%) after avoiding the verified allergens. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the patch test is a useful tool for the detection of contact allergens and it must be performed for the patients with hand eczema, and especially for those patients with the vesicular type.
