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Transepidermal water loss and incidence of hand dermatitis in a prospectively followed cohort of apprentice nurses
Author(s) -
Schmid Klaus,
Broding Horst Christoph,
Uter Wolfgang,
Drexler Hans
Publication year - 2005
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.0105-1873.2005.00557.x
Subject(s) - medicine , transepidermal water loss , incidence (geometry) , physical examination , dermatology , confidence interval , irritant contact dermatitis , cohort , contact dermatitis , cohort study , prospective cohort study , forearm , dorsum , hand dermatitis , hand eczema , surgery , allergy , pathology , immunology , physics , stratum corneum , optics , anatomy
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the incidence of hand dermatitis, the impact of potential risk factors and the efficacy of skin bioengineering in a prospectively followed cohort of apprentice nurses. 104 participants were prospectively followed for 3 years. Before the start of training, after about 1 year and in the third year of occupational exposure, a standardized questionnaire was distributed, and a clinical examination with skin bioengineering of the dorsum of hand and forearm was performed. The 12‐month period prevalence of self‐reported symptoms of hand dermatitis was 36.5%[95%‐confidence interval (CI) 27.3–46.6] at intermediate follow‐up and 43.3% (95%‐CI 33.6–53.3) at the final examination. Apprentices with self‐reported symptoms at the final examination showed a significant increase of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) at the dorsal hand from 10.15 g/m 2 h to 13.55 g/m 2 h. TEWL at this site did, at the initial examination, not differ significantly between persons who later reported symptoms of hand dermatitis at the final examination and those who did not (10.50 g/m 2 h versus 10.15 g/m 2 h, respectively). Our results do not support the notion that an increased basal TEWL is a good indicator for hand dermatitis risk.