Laura Loman1, Wolfgang Uter2, José C Armario-Hita3, Fabio Ayala4, Anna Balato5, Barbara K Ballmer-Weber6,7, Andrea Bauer8, Andreas J Bircher9, Timo Buhl10, Magdalena Czarnecka-Operacz11, Heinrich Dickel12, Thomas Fuchs10, Ana Giménez Arnau13, Swen M John14, Birger Kränke15, Beata Kręcisz16,17, Vera Mahler18,19, Thomas Rustemeyer20, Anna Sadowska-Przytocka11, Javier Sánchez-Pérez21, Kathrin Scherer Hofmeier22, Sibylle Schliemann23, Dagmar Simon24, Radoslaw Spiewak25, Philip Spring26, Skaidra Valiukevičienė27, Nicola Wagner18, Elke Weisshaar28, Maria Pesonen29, Marie L A Schuttelaar1. 1. Department of Dermatology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. 2. Department of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen/Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany. 3. Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Puerto Real, University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain. 4. Department of Dermatology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy. 5. Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy. 6. Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. 7. Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zürich and Clinic of Dermatology and Allergology, Kantonsspital St Gallen, Zürich, Switzerland. 8. Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 9. Department of Dermatology, Allergy Unit, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland. 10. Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany. 11. Department of Dermatology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland. 12. Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany. 13. Department of Dermatology, Hospital del Mar, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. 14. Department of Dermatology and Environmental Medicine, Institute for Interdisciplinary Dermatologic Prevention and Rehabilitation (iDerm), University of Osnabrück, Lower Saxony Institute for Occupational Dermatology (NIB), Osnabrück, Germany. 15. Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. 16. Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Institute of Medical Science, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland. 17. Department of Dermatology, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland. 18. Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Erlangen, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany. 19. Division of Allergology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, Germany. 20. Department of Dermatology-Allergology and Occupational Dermatology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 21. Department of Dermatology, Hospital Universitario la Princesa, Madrid, Spain. 22. Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland. 23. Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany. 24. Department of Dermatology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. 25. Department of Experimental Dermatology and Cosmetology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland. 26. Dermatologie et vénéréologie FMH, Center Médical d'Epalinges, Epalinges, Switzerland. 27. Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania. 28. Department of Dermatology, Occupational Dermatology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. 29. Division Occupational Medicine, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) is caused by the acute locally toxic effect of a strong irritant, or the cumulative exposure to various weaker physical and/or chemical irritants. OBJECTIVES: To describe the characteristics of patients with ICD in the population patch tested in the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergies (ESSCA; www.essca-dc.org) database. METHODS: Data collected by the ESSCA in consecutively patch-tested patients from January 2009 to December 2018 were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 68 072 patients, 8702 were diagnosed with ICD (without concomitant allergic contact dermatitis [ACD]). Hand and face were the most reported anatomical sites, and 45.7% of the ICD was occupational ICD (OICD). The highest proportions of OICD were found in metal turners, bakers, pastry cooks, and confectionery makers. Among patients diagnosed with ICD, 45% were found sensitized with no relevance for the current disease. CONCLUSIONS: The hands were mainly involved in OICD also in the subgroup of patients with contact dermatitis, in whom relevant contact sensitization had been ruled out, emphasizing the need for limiting irritant exposures. However, in difficult-to-treat contact dermatitis, unrecognized contact allergy, or unrecognized clinical relevance of identified allergies owing to incomplete or wrong product ingredient information must always be considered. Contact Dermatitis
BACKGROUND:Irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) is caused by the acute locally toxic effect of a strong irritant, or the cumulative exposure to various weaker physical and/or chemical irritants. OBJECTIVES: To describe the characteristics of patients with ICD in the population patch tested in the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergies (ESSCA; www.essca-dc.org) database. METHODS: Data collected by the ESSCA in consecutively patch-tested patients from January 2009 to December 2018 were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 68 072 patients, 8702 were diagnosed with ICD (without concomitant allergic contact dermatitis [ACD]). Hand and face were the most reported anatomical sites, and 45.7% of the ICD was occupational ICD (OICD). The highest proportions of OICD were found in metal turners, bakers, pastry cooks, and confectionery makers. Among patients diagnosed with ICD, 45% were found sensitized with no relevance for the current disease. CONCLUSIONS: The hands were mainly involved in OICD also in the subgroup of patients with contact dermatitis, in whom relevant contact sensitization had been ruled out, emphasizing the need for limiting irritant exposures. However, in difficult-to-treat contact dermatitis, unrecognized contact allergy, or unrecognized clinical relevance of identified allergies owing to incomplete or wrong product ingredient information must always be considered. Contact Dermatitis