Clinical Pattern and Patch Test Profile of Hand Eczema in Hospital Employees in a Tertiary Care Hospital of North...

Health care workers form an important occupational group with a high risk of hand eczema. All health care professionals are exposed to a variety of allergens and irritants which can cause hand dermatitis, resulting in significant morbidity.

To assess the clinical profile of hand eczema in hospital employees, to perform patch test in relevant cases and to find out the most common sensitizers in them.

This was a cross-sectional, hospital-based study in which the staff was screened for features of hand eczema and patch testing was done in the suspected cases of allergic contact dermatitis.

Out of 340 employees screened, 46 employees (13.5%) suffered from hand eczema. The most common type was wear and tear dermatitis accounting for 17 (36.9%) cases, followed by discoid eczema, pompholyx, focal palmar peeling, finger-tip eczema, hyperkeratotic eczema, ring eczema, and unspecified types. Patch testing was positive in 15 (32.6%) cases. The most common allergen was paraphenylene diamine, followed by fragrance mix, nitrofurazone, mercaptobenzothiazole, potassium bichromate, black rubber mix, and thiuram mix. A statistically significant association (0.001) was found with an underlying history of atopy.

Hand eczema is a commonly encountered dermatological complaint in many hospital employees. Proper counseling, work, up, patch testing, and treatment can mitigate the symptoms in such employees.