Occupational allergic contact dermatitis from drugs in healthcare workers

Contact sensitivity to drugs administered systemically occurs mainly among healthcare workers, pharmaceutical operatives, and veterinary surgeons. Of the 14,689 patients suspected of contact allergy examined in our department from 1978 to 2001, occupational allergic contact dermatitis from drugs in healthcare workers was diagnosed in 33, the first in 1980. The most common sensitizers were antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, and aminoglycosides. They accounted altogether for 35 positive patch tests, followed by propacetamol hydrochloride, and ranitidine hydrochloride, which elicited 10 and 7 positive reactions, respectively. The aim of this report is to draw attention to the importance of occupational contact allergy to drugs in healthcare workers. By far the greatest number of the sensitized patients in this series were nurses, there being 26 nurses, 4 veterinarians, 2 pharmacists, and 1 medical doctor.