Contact allergy to sorbitans: a follow-up study

Sorbitan sesquioleate (SSO), an emulsifier in many corticosteroids, was previously found positive in 8.9% of 112 dermatitis patients.

The objective of this study was to present data on 24 of 591 dermatitis patients with reactions to SSO and/or sorbitan monooleate (SMO) on patch testing.

A retrospective chart review was conducted on 591 consecutive dermatitis patients patch tested from November 2008 to May 2010. In addition to being tested to a modified North American Contact Dermatitis Group standard series, all patients were tested to a cosmetic series.

Of the 591 patients tested, 24 reacted to SSO and/or SMO (4.1%), 19 (3.2%) reacted to SSO alone, 1 (0.17%) to SMO alone, and 4 (0.68%) reacted to both. Of the 24 sorbitan-allergic patients, 2 (8.3%) reacted to any of 4 corticosteroid screening chemicals tested.

In this follow-up study, 4.1% of 591 dermatitis patients reacted to SSO and/or SMO. Given the presence of SSO in many popular topical corticosteroid formulations, clinicians should consider allergy to sorbitans when patients do not improve with topical corticosteroid therapy.