Contact Hypersensitivity to Haptens of the European Standard Series and Corticosteroid Series in the Population of Adolescents and Adults With Atopic Dermatitis

Analysis of Positive Patch Test Allergens in Allergic Contact Dermatitis Patients with Atopic Dermatitis

BACKGROUND

There has been debate regarding whether patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have an altered frequency of contact allergen sensitization. Increased exposure to topical medications and moisturizers as well as impaired skin barrier function increase the risk of contact sensitization, whereas the Th2-skewed inflammatory pathway of AD is associated with a reduced risk.

OBJECTIVE

This retrospective study was performed to determine the characteristics of contact sensitization in allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) patients with a current or past history of AD.

METHODS

A clinical record review was conducted for patients referred to Ewha Womans University Medical Center, for patch tests between March 2017 and March 2021. We compared the rates of contact sensitization between ACD patients with and without AD.

RESULTS

In total, 515 patch test results were reviewed and divided into the AD group (n=53) and non-AD group (n=462). The AD group showed decreased any-allergen positivity (1+, 2+, or 3+) (56.6%) compared to the non-AD group (72.9%) (p=0.013). The positivity rate for budesonide was significantly higher in the AD group (p=0.011), while the prevalence of a positive result for balsam of Peru was higher in the non-AD group (p=0.036). Nickel sulfate, cobalt chloride, and potassium dichromate were the most common sensitized allergens in both groups.

CONCLUSION

Our study shows a decreased prevalence of contact sensitization in AD patients compared to non-AD patients. Clinicians should be aware of the risk of corticosteroid allergies in ACD patients with history of AD.

Both children and adult patients with difficult-to-treat atopic dermatitis have high prevalences of concomitant allergic contact dermatitis and are frequently polysensitized

BACKGROUND

Concomitant allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) has been described as a possible cause of atopic dermatitis (AD) becoming difficult-to-treat. However, contact sensitization in this patient group has barely been studied.

OBJECTIVE

To study the occurrence of ACD in a population of difficult-to-treat AD children and adults.

METHODS

Clinical and patch test information of 48 patients with difficult-to-treat AD unresponsive to conventional outpatient treatments was gathered retrospectively. We studied prevalence and relevance of common allergens, performed dynamic patch test analysis and assessed occurrence of polysensitization.

RESULTS

In 48 patients with difficult-to-treat AD, 75% (n = 36/48) had a concomitant contact allergy, and 39% (n = 14/36) of these patients were polysensitized. ACD and polysensitization prevalences were equal amongst children and adults. The most frequent and relevant reactions were seen against wool alcohols, surfactants cocamidopropyl betaine and dimethylaminopropylamine, bichromate and fragrance mix I. Dynamic pattern analysis showed these reactions to be mostly allergic and not irritative of nature.

CONCLUSION

Difficult-to-treat AD patients frequently suffer from concomitant (multiple) contact allergies, and this may be a reason why the AD turns into a difficult-to-treat disease. Awareness of this phenomenon is necessary, as pragmatic implementation of allergen avoidance strategies may be helpful in getting disease control in this population.

Contact allergy in the population of patients with chronic inflammatory dermatoses and contact hypersensitivity to corticosteroids

INTRODUCTION

Clinical studies indicate that contact allergy to glucocorticosteroids (GCS) is not rare and has been increasingly reported over the past decade. Among the risk factors for developing contact hypersensitivity to topical corticosteroids, chronic inflammatory skin diseases and polyvalent contact allergy seem to be most important.

AIM

To present the structure of contact allergy in the population of patients with chronic inflammatory dermatoses (CID) and contact hypersensitivity to corticosteroids.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Twenty-seven patients with contact allergy to GCS and chronic inflammatory dermatoses were patch tested with 28 European Baseline Series allergens and 8 corticosteroid allergens. This study group consisted of 5 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), 15 patients with contact eczema (CE) and 7 with chronic leg eczema (CLE). Nineteen (70.4%) patients were females and 8 (29.6%) were males.

RESULTS

In the study group, the most sensitizing non-steroidal allergens were nickel sulfate (51.8%), cobalt chloride (33.3%) and balsam of Peru (29.6%). The most sensitizing corticosteroid allergens were budesonide (77.8%), betamethasone valerate and clobetasol propionate (55.5% each). A total of 77.8% of patients allergic to GCS also showed sensitivity to at least one non-steroidal allergen from the European Baseline Series.

CONCLUSIONS

The most important risk factors for developing contact allergy to corticosteroids appear to be chronic inflammatory dermatoses, long disease duration, extended on-and-off topical corticosteroid use, patients presenting two or more positive patch test results and polyvalent contact allergy to metal salts and to other non-steroidal haptens.