Soluble oil dermatitis: a follow-up study

A pilot follow-up study of patients with soluble oil dermatitis was designed to investigate the effects on prognosis of aetiology and of stopping working with soluble oils. A questionnaire was sent to 121 machine operators who had been diagnosed over a 5-year period. Life table analysis of the 100 replies (83%) revealed a poor prognosis both for those who had continued to work with soluble oils and for those who had stopped. 78% (95% confidence intervals: 63%-94%) of those who continued to work with soluble oils had not healed 2 years after diagnosis. 70% (95% confidence intervals: 56%-83%) of those who stopped working with soluble oil had not healed 2 years after discontinuing contact. Both groups were divided into 4 subgroups with different combinations of aetiological components: allergic and endogenous, non-allergic and endogenous, allergic and non-endogenous, non-allergic and non-endogenous. No significant difference in outcome emerged in either the discontinued contact group or the continued contact group between any aetiological subgroups. Patients who discontinued contact with soluble oils fell into 2 groups: those who healed rapidly and those who developed a chronic dermatitis. 11 of the 15 patients who had healed after 2 years had done so within the first 3 months following cessation of contact. No factor could be identified to distinguish those with the more favourable prognosis. The implications of this study for the management of soluble oil dermatitis are discussed.