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Patch Testing in Children and Adolescents With Suspected Allergic Contact Dermatitis
Surekha Meena1, Taru Garg2, Ram Chander1
1Department of Dermatology, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Hospitals, New Delhi, India.
Insights
Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) in children is often caused by nickel sulfate. Patch testing is crucial for diagnosis, with higher relevance in younger children, indicating age shouldn't prevent testing.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Pediatric Allergy
Background:
- Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a prevalent condition in children.
- Patch testing is the gold standard for identifying contact allergens in suspected ACD cases.
- Current data on common allergens in pediatric ACD is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify common allergens responsible for ACD in children and adolescents.
- To evaluate the clinical relevance of patch test results in this age group.
Main Methods:
- Patch testing was performed using the Indian Standard Series.
- Additional allergens were included based on patient history.
- Seventy-four pediatric patients with suspected ACD were recruited; 70 were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Over half of the patients (54.3%) showed one or more positive patch test reactions.
- Nickel sulfate was the most frequently identified allergen.
- Clinically relevant reactions were observed in 78.94% of positive cases.
- Positive patch test relevance was significantly higher in younger children (3-9 years) than adolescents (10-19 years) (P=.030).
Conclusions:
- ACD is a significant health issue impacting children's quality of life.
- Patch testing is effective in diagnosing ACD in children and adolescents.
- Age should not be a barrier to performing patch testing for ACD diagnosis.
Abstract:
Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) in children is not uncommon. The reported rates of positive patch test in various series in children with suspected ACD varies from 32.6% to 67%. At present, patch testing is the only reliable test to identify various contact allergens in a suspected case of ACD. The aim of this study was to find out the common allergens responsible for ACD in children and adolescents. Patch testing was carried out with Indian Standard Series. Additional allergens were added wherever implicated from history. Seventy-four patients were recruited during the study period, of which analysis was performed in 70 patients. Thirty-eight (54.3%) patients had one or more positive patch test results. The most common allergen found to be positive was nickel sulfate. The clinically relevant reactions were found in 78.94% of patients. The relevance of positive patch test reactions were higher in children (3-9 years) compared with adolescents (10-19 years) and it was found to be statistically significant (P=.030). ACD is a significant health problem in children, compromising their quality of life, therefore age should not be a bar for performing patch testing to diagnose this clinical condition.
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