Colophony in paper-based surgical clothing.

The article presents a case report of a 37-year-old orthopaedic surgeon who consulted the Department of Dermatology for widespread eczema. His eczema started on the arms and spread to the neck and entire body. He suspected paper-based surgical clothing as the cause. The eczema deteriorated during periods of intensive work and improved during days out of the operating theatre. The patient also reacted positively to both the acetone extract and the extract in pet. When he subsequently reverted to textile-based surgical clothing, his contact dermatitis improved.