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Intra‐individual variation of irritant threshold and relationship to transepidermal water loss measurement of skin irritation
Author(s) -
Smith H. R.,
Rowson M.,
Basketter D. A.,
McFadden J. P.
Publication year - 2004
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/j.0105-1873.2004.00386.x
Subject(s) - transepidermal water loss , irritant contact dermatitis , irritation , dermatology , skin irritation , skin barrier , patch testing , contact dermatitis , sensitive skin , chemistry , medicine , stratum corneum , allergy , pathology , immunology
Irritant susceptibility studies have used either visual assessment or transepidermal water loss (TEWL) to determine subject response. We have developed a visual assessment method which determines subject irritant threshold. We examined the relationship between sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) irritant threshold and TEWL measurements from normal skin and SLS patch tests. 19 subjects were recruited. The irritant threshold of each subject was measured and TEWL measurements made from the applied SLS patch tests. Individuals with a lower irritant threshold (easily irritated skin) had elevated TEWL levels compared to those with higher thresholds. The irritant threshold test had a low intraindividual variation. This study showed that the 2 methods grouped patients in a similar manner. The variation seen may reflect the different outcomes measured: irritant threshold visually assesses the skin inflammatory response while TEWL measures skin barrier modification.