Occupational allergic contact dermatitis due to ultraviolet-cured acrylic glue.

Since the methacrylate and acrylate compounds (acrylics) were developed in the 1930s, they have been widely used in a variety of products such as dental prostheses and tooth filling, printing inks, orthopaedic prostheses and splints, soft contact lenses, floor waxes, surface treatment of leather, textiles and paper products, nail cosmetics, and as glues, sealants and adhesives . Ultraviolet (UV)-cured acrylic resin is one of the most convenient systems to use for dental materials, printing and glues. Acrylics have frequently been shown to cause allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) in both domestic and occupational environments. ACD due to (meth)acrylate derivatives in UV-cured resin have often been reported. Acrylics are also reported to cause some types of adverse reaction when patch tested, such as active sensitization, latent reaction and late reaction. Consequently, it is very difficult to perform patch testing with acrylics as the test may cause irritation and active sensitization at high concentration and false negative results at low concentrations. This report details ACD due to 2hydroxyethyl methacrylate (2-HEMA) in UV-cured glue used in the computer industry and some adverse patch test reactions to (meth)acrylates.