Allergic contact dermatitis in children: trends in allergens, 10 years on. A retrospective study of 500 children tested between 2005 and 2014 in one UK centre. (13th November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Smith, Vanessa M.; Clark, Sheila M.; Wilkinson, Mark
• Is Part Of: Contact dermatitis. Volume 74:Number 1(2016)
• Page Start: 37
• Page End: 43
• Publication Date: 2015-11-13
• Subjects: cosmetics -- cutaneous allergy -- methylisothiazolinone -- paediatric -- patch testing -- p‐phenylenediamine; Contact dermatitis -- Periodicals; 616.51
• DOI: 10.1111/cod.12489
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0105-1873

Abstract

Summary: Background: Contact allergy in children is becoming increasingly recognized as a cause of eczema. The causal agents may change with time, but there are few comparative data for this age group. Objectives: To compare data from the past 10 years with a similar study from the previous decade. Methods: Between 2005 and 2014, 500 consecutive children who had been patch tested at Leeds Teaching Hospitals were identified, and the results were reviewed. Results: Twenty‐seven per cent (134 cases) of children had one or more positive patch test findings. The mean ± standard deviation age of patients with a positive test reaction was 11.9 ± 4.1 years, which was significantly higher than that of patients with a negative result (10.9 ± 4.0 years) ( p = 0.01; Mann–Whitney U ‐test). No significant relationship between sex and a positive patch test result was found ( p = 0.48, chi‐squared). Allergy to nickel was the most frequent finding, although this accounted for 18%, rather than 33% (1995–2004), of all positive reactions. The next most common allergens included fragrance mix 1 (17%), p ‐phenylenediamine (16%), and methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (6%). Conclusions: Although the overall incidence of contact allergy in our paediatric population is static, there has been a significant change in the allergens detected, probably as a result of changes in European legislation and cosmetic product use in children.