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Contact dermatitis in healthcare workers is a world wide problem. We conducted a retrospective observational study of the patch-test results of 1,402 healthcare workers and 1,402 matched controls with contact dermatitis who were treated at 3 hospitals departments in Denmark between 2007 and 2014. The primary objective was to determine whether healthcare work was associated with contact allergy to thiuram mix, used as a rubber accelerator ib rubber protective gloves. Unadjusted univariate analyses revealed that healthcare work was significantly associated with occupational contact dermatitis and hand dermatitis. Contact allergy to thiuram mix was more common in healthcare workers, and was significantly associated with having occupational contact dermatitis, hand dermatitis and older age. In conclusion, we report here a potential problem of contact allergy to thiurams in healthcare workers with contact dermatitis. Legislative authorities may in the future focus on the use of rubber accelerators in, for example, protective gloves, which are widely used by healthcare professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children are patch-tested in the same manner as adults, but little has been done to establish whether positive or negative findings influence the course of skin symptoms. To uncover the course of skin symptoms and the impact of persistent eczema on life quality in paediatric patients referred for patch testing, a retrospective questionnaire was sent to children and adolescents referred for patch testing during a 9-year period. Persistent eczema at follow- up was strongly associated to atopic dermatitis, but was not explained by gender, age, contact allergy or time span from patch testing to follow-up. Among patients without atopic dermatitis, 23.5% reported to suffer from chronic eczema. Persistent eczema increased the risk of severe impairment of life quality. Our findings indicate a significant risk of childhood eczema becoming chronic and affecting life quality considerably. Patch testing did not affect the course of eczema, highlighting the difficulties of avoidance behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atopic dermatitis, hand eczema and contact sensitization are prevalent disorders, and may, in many cases, be secondary to skin barrier abnormality. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between self-reported generalized xerosis, atopic dermatitis, hand eczema and contact sensitization, taking filaggrin gene mutations into account. Questionnaire data were collected from a cross-sectional study performed in a general population in Copenhagen. A total of 3,460 18-69-year-olds were patch-tested and 3,335 were genotyped for the 2282del4 and R501X mutations in the filaggrin gene. Atopic dermatitis and hand eczema were significantly associated with generalized xerosis, whereas contact sensitization (not nickel) showed only a borderline significant association. These results suggest that generalized xerosis may increase the risk of common skin disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is evidence that stimulants such as alcohol and tobacco have an effect on the immune system, but little is known about how these lifestyle factors affect the prevalence of contact sensitization. This study investigated whether smoking and alcohol consumption were associated with contact sensitization and nickel sensitization. A random sample of adults (n = 3460) from the general population of Copenhagen was invited to participate in a general health examination including patch-testing. Alcohol consumption was not associated with nickel sensitization, whereas a significant trend (p < 0.05) was identified between smoking status and nickel sensitization in an adjusted model; i.e. nickel sensitization was higher among both previous smokers (odds ratio (OR) = 1.19; confidence interval (CI) = 0.81–1.76), current light smokers (OR = 1.50; CI = 0.94–2.37) and current heavy smokers (OR = 1.56; CI = 0.87–2.80) compared with never smokers. This study confirmed that smoking is associated with nickel sensitization, but rejected an association with alcohol consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on potential factors related to low quality of life in patients with hand eczema. It highlights materials and methods used including a self-administered photographic guide, skin patch test, and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaires. It reports that hand eczema shows a measurable impact on the quality of life of the patients.

The article presents a research study on the prevalence of allergic nickel dermatitis disorder in nickel-allergic patients in Denmark and also describes the consumer behaviour of these patients with regard to metallic items. Topics discussed include the regulations passed by the European Union (EU) regarding nickel release from metallic items, the methods and results of the study and a detailed discussion regarding allergic nickel dermatitis.

The article discusses a study related to microbial contamination of creams used in hand eczema by Staphylococcus aureus. It mentions that 20 patients were selected in this study undergoing routine patch testing. The creams and the contact areas contaminated by cream were also tested in this study. The total of 49 microbes was found on the cream and 85 microbes from the opening of tubes and jars.

The article presents a research study which examines the correlation between contact allergy (CA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The findings of the study reveal that CA and RA are inversely correlated with one another. It was also found out that patients with RA exhibit impaired cell-mediated immunity which might contribute to a reduction in skin reactivity. The study suggests that the immunological background of the two diseases may be useful in the development of future treatments.

The article discusses the association of null-mutations in the profilaggrin gene with a distinct subtype of atopic hand eczema. It notes the findings of a study suggesting that the special phenotype of atopic hand eczema identified in previous studies may be explained by profilaggrin gene null-mutations. It also stresses the significance of prospective studies to confirm the findings of the study.