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Contact allergy in patients with rosacea: a clinic‐based, prospective epidemiological study
Author(s) -
Jappe U,
Schäfer T,
Schnuch A,
Uter W
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of the european academy of dermatology and venereology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.655
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-3083
pISSN - 0926-9959
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2008.02778.x
Subject(s) - medicine , rosacea , epidemiology , dermatology , contact allergy , allergy , prospective cohort study , contact dermatitis , immunology , acne
Background Rosacea is a relatively common inflammatory skin disease of unknown prevalence. The proportion of contact allergy complicating rosacea and its therapy, respectively, is largely unknown. Objective To estimate the prevalence of specific contact allergy in rosacea patients and to compare this with the prevalence observed in the general population and in general patch test patients. Patients/methods In this prospective monocentre study, 78 patients with rosacea were investigated for contact sensitizations via patch testing the standard series, constituents of topical formulations, preservatives, fragrances, topically applied drugs and, if available, patient's own products. Results Positive reactions occurred to nickel (II) sulphate (12 of 78, 15.4%), fragrance mix I (4 of 77, 5.2%), balsam of Peru (8 of 77, 10.4%; significantly elevated prevalence compared to that observed in the population‐based KORA study), potassium dichromate (4 of 78, 5.1%) and Lyral (3 of 78, 3.8%). Regarding topical antibiotics, only 1 of 78 (1.3%) patients was positive to neomycin sulphate, and none to metronidazole; however, 6 of 75 (8%) patients were positive to gentamicin sulphate, and 4 of 76 (5.3%) patients were positive to framycetin sulphate. No allergic but irritant patch test reactions, instead, were provoked by various patients’ own products as well as by the irritant sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) even in low concentrations. Conclusion Despite the limited power of the study, a strikingly high prevalence of contact allergy to gentamicin sulphate was observed, which is probably due to antibiotic treatment of rosacea‐associated eye symptoms. The reactions to the irritant SLS probably mirror the extreme skin sensitivity in rosacea.