Patch Testing for Contact Allergy and Allergic Contact Dermatitis

摘要

Contact allergy (CA) is alteration of immune response with readiness to develop an inflammatory reactionagainst a specific substance of low molecular weight (hapten). The prevalence of CA is estimated at 26-40% amongadults, and 21-36% children. A proportion of people with CA will remain asymptomatic, among the rest, the most frequentclinical manifestation is allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) with lifetime prevalence estimated at 10%. Less frequentmanifestations include allergic contact stomatitis, conjunctivitis, vaginitis, systemic reactions, implant intolerance, andrarely urticaria, asthma, and allergic rhinitis. Patch test (epicutaneous test) is the gold standard in the diagnosis of CA andACD: Performing the test significantly increases probability of accurate diagnosis, reduces costs of treatment, and leads toimproved patients’ quality of life. Patch test results may be influenced by patient’s medication and health status, and interpretationrequires due knowledge and experience. Other diagnostic methods are more laborious and not validated; no invitro tests are available for routine application at present.