Patch Testing: Is pre patch testing series consisting of less allergens more practical?

摘要

Background and Design: The aims of this study were to evaluate the patch test results and demographic characteristics of patients who underwent patch testing with European standard series (ESS) and to verify if the patch test panel can be narrowed or not. MATERIALS-METHODS: Data of 74 patients who had a patch test with ESS were evaluated retrospectively. Of those, 58 had contact dermatitis, 3 had atopic dermatitis, and 13 had other diagnoses. Patch test results were analyzed with student's t test and Pearson correlation test. RESULTS: The median age of the 74 patients in the study group (F = 51, M = 23) was 29 years (range: 5 to 76 years). Positive allergic reactions were observed to a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 4 chemicals in a total of 35 (48.6%) patients after 72 hours. The 6 most common allergens that caused positive reactions were nickel (n = 18), cobalt chloride (n = 9), balsam of Peru (n = 6), fragrance mix (n = 6), neomycin sulphate (n = 5), and potassium dichromate (n = 4). Of the 35 patients with positive patch test results in 30 (%85.7) of the patients the reactions were against these most common 6 agents. There were no positive reactions to 10 of 25 chemicals in ESS. Concurrent positive results were noted with 2 chemicals in 8 patients (22.8%), 3 chemicals in 6 patients (9.4%), and 4 chemicals in one patient (2.8%). CONCLUSION: The results of patch tests should be evaluated regularly in order to update the patch test components. We recommend a test series consisting of the 6 most common allergens in order to decrease both the costs associated with the test and contact sensitization, which may be the most serious side effect of patch testing.