Abstract:
Background. Allergic diseases have a rising trend worldwide. Allergic contact eczema is the most frequent
occupational disease. The spectrum of allergens is influenced by a number of factors. The basic method for detection
of contact allergy and detection of the allergen are epicutaneous tests. The objective of the work was to evaluate the
results of these tests in patients with contact dermatitis.
Methods and Results. A total of 437 patients were tested (163 men, 274 women). For testing an extended standard
set of medicamentous and non-medicamentous allergens was used. In women more often positive reactions were
obtained (39.5 %) than men (27.5 %). The mean age of women was 40 years, that of men 47 years. Both groups
responded on average to 1.6 and 1.7 allergens resp. The most frequent allergen in women was nickel (17.9 %) in
men chromium (12.9 %). Other frequent allergens in women included chromium (11.3 %), Peru balsam (3.6 %),
HgCl 2 and cobalt. In men it was nickel, cobalt (6.1 %) and HgCl 2 . Tere were also concurrent allergies. (The results
are not statistically significant). In youngest age group the number of women was more than sevenfold: the most
frequent allergen in this group was nickel. In the group of patients above 60 years of age women also predominated
(2.5x): most frequently allergy to chromium was found (9.1 %). The allergic reaction to camomile and tar was
significantly higher.
Conclusions. The most frequent allergen in standard epicutaneous tests in women is nickel, in men chromium.
Other frequent allergens are cobalt, mercury and Perubalsam. Women have a higher ratio of positive reactions, in
the group under 30 years women predominate 7x, in the whole group 2.4x.
Key words:
epicutaneous tests, allergens, nickel, chromium, cobalt, camomile, Peru balsam.
|