Patch testing in Lao medical students

Dermatological services in Laos, South East Asia are limited to the capital and patch testing is currently not available, so no data exists regarding the common cutaneous allergens in this population.

The aim of this study was to document positive patch tests in medical students without evidence of contact dermatitis in Laos.

One hundred and fifty medical students were patch tested using TRUE Test® panels 1 to 3 (35 allergens). Readings were taken at Days 2 and 4.

Thirty-eight students (25.3%) had a positive reaction to at least one allergen, accounting for 52 reactions in total. The proportion of the students with positive patch test reading was significantly higher in the female [33/96 (34%)] than in the male [5/54 (9%)], p<0.001. The most common allergens were: nickel (10%), gold (6.6%), thiomersal (6.6%), cobalt dichloride (2%) and p-tert-Butylphenol formaldehyde resin (2%). Balsam of Peru (0.66%), black rubber mix (0.66%), Cl+Me-Isothiazolinone (0.66%), fragrance mix 1 (0.66%), quinolone mix (0.66%), methyldibromo glutaronitrile (0.66%), mercapto mix (0.66%), epoxy resin (0.66%), paraben mix (0.66%), thiuram (0.66%) and wool alcohols (0.66%) accounted for all of the other positive reactions.

This study represents the first documented patch test results in Lao medical students and in the adult Lao population. The results of this study will inform any future research into contact allergy in Laos and give an insight into the background level of contact sensitivity in this population.