10 years of patch testing with the (meth)acrylate series

Statistics on 10 years of patch testing with 30 (meth)acrylates were compiled. Altogether 275 patients were patch tested and 48 patients (17.5%) had an allergic reaction to at least 1 (meth)acrylate. The (meth)acrylates most often provoking an allergic patch test reaction were 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (2-HEA; 12.1%), 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate (2-HPMA; 12.0%) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (2-HEMA; 11.4%). No allergic reactions were caused by 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA), 2,2-bis[4-(methacryloxy)phenyl]propane (BIS-MA), trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA), oligotriacrylate 480 (OTA 480), N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAA), or ethyl cyanoacrylate (ECA). The frequency of allergic patch test reactions presented cannot be considered as a "ranking" list of the most sensitizing (meth)acrylate compounds. In order to be able to judge the sensitization capacity of various (meth)acrylate compounds in humans, it would be necessary to have detailed information on the exposure history of the patients studied, including the purity of the (meth)acrylate compounds. Currently, this is not possible because (meth)acrylate-containing products regularly contain undeclared (meth)acrylate compounds.