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Comparing reliabilities of strip and conventional patch testing
Author(s) -
Dickel Heinrich,
Geier Johannes,
Kreft Burkhard,
Pfützner Wolfgang,
Kuss Oliver
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
contact dermatitis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1600-0536
pISSN - 0105-1873
DOI - 10.1111/cod.12758
Subject(s) - patch test , potassium dichromate , medicine , patch testing , contact allergy , reliability (semiconductor) , allergic contact dermatitis , contact dermatitis , test (biology) , surgery , dermatology , allergy , immunology , inorganic chemistry , paleontology , power (physics) , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
Summary Background The standardized protocol for performing the strip patch test has proven to be valid, but evidence on its reliability is still missing. Objective To estimate the parallel‐test reliability of the strip patch test as compared with the conventional patch test. Methods In this multicentre, prospective, randomized, investigator‐blinded reliability study, 132 subjects were enrolled. Simultaneous duplicate strip and conventional patch tests were performed with the Finn Chambers ® on Scanpor ® tape test system and the patch test preparations nickel sulfate 5% pet., potassium dichromate 0.5% pet., and lanolin alcohol 30% pet. Reliability was estimated by the use of Cohen's kappa coefficient. Results Parallel‐test reliability values of the three standard patch test preparations turned out to be acceptable, with slight advantages for the strip patch test. The differences in reliability were 9% (95% CI : −8% to 26%) for nickel sulfate and 23% (95% CI : −16% to 63%) for potassium dichromate, both favouring the strip patch test. Conclusions The standardized strip patch test method for the detection of allergic contact sensitization in patients with suspected allergic contact dermatitis is reliable. Its application in routine clinical practice can be recommended, especially if the conventional patch test result is presumably false negative.