cqvip:Occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) regularly causes high levelsofworkermorbidity;however,thisisoftennotreflectedin available statistics. This study aimed to collect and verify OCD reports/referrals and generate disease estimates for a defined geographical area in Melbourne, Australia. Two methods of data collection were used. In the first method, 30 general practitioners (GPs), 2 dermatologists and 1 dermatology outpatient clinicwithinadefinedareareportedeachworkerwithsuspected OCD seen as part of routine practice. With the second method, workers living in the area who were referred to a tertiary referral OCD clinic were included in the study. An occupational dermatologist used a gold standard process that included diagnostic patch testing to verify suspected cases. The incidence rate for confirmed cases was 20.5 per 100 000 workers 95%confidence interval (CI):13-32.1 . The 1-year-period prevalence rate was 34.5 per 100000 (95%CI:24.4-48.7). The positive predictive value (PPV) was highest for the occupational dermatology clinic referrals 63%(95%CI:49-76%) compared with reports from the dermatologists/dermatology outpatient clinic 55%(95%CI:36-74%) and from GPs 43%(95%CI:29-59%) . This study utilizes reports from GPs and dermatologists to provide OCD disease estimates and validation data for an OCD disease register.
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