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KMID : 0363220100480010026
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Korean Journal of Dermatology
2010 Volume.48 No. 1 p.26 ~ p.32
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The Patch Test as a Useful Tool for Avoiding Suspected Allergens in Patients with Hand Eczema
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Kim Gun-Wook
Ko Hyun-Chang
Kim Moon-Bum
Kwon Kyung-Sool
Kim Su-Han
Kim Hoon-Soo
Jung Do-Sang
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Abstract
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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.
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KEYWORD
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Allergic contact dermatitis, Hand eczema, Occupation, Patch test
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