Journal of Nature and Science of Medicine · Published 2025-10-01 · DOI 10.4103/jnsm.jnsm_115_25
Background and Objectives: Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) has a substantial impact on quality of life and its prevalence varies globally. This study aimed to assess the pattern of patch test reactivity among patients with suspected ACD. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of 812 patients presenting with clinical suspicion of ACD and underwent patch testing between March 2010 and February 2020 at a tertiary care hospital. Thin-layer Rapid-Use Epicutaneous test (TRUE test) was used to diagnose ACD. Data were extracted from the medical records of the patients. Results: Out of 812 patients tested 380 (46.7%; 282 females and 98 males) yielded positive results, where 242 (63.6%) patients reacted against single allergen and 138 (36.3%) reacted to more than one allergen. Among single responses nickel sulfate was the most frequently reacting allergen in 81 (33.4%) patients followed by p-phenylenediamine in 35 (14.4%), thimerosal in 21 (8.6%), p-tert-butylphenol formaldehyde in 17 (7%), and formaldehyde resin in 16 (6.6%). Among the multiple reactions p-tert-butylphenol formaldehyde (25%), formaldehyde resin (19.1%) and p-phenylenediamine (19.1%) frequently exhibited concurrent sensitization with nickel. Conclusion: Nickel sulfate was found to be the most common contact allergen in our local population, highlighting the importance of identifying sources of nickel exposure and implementing policies to mitigate exposure to nickel and other contact allergens.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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