A study of clinical types of contact allergic dermatitis of hands and its association with allergens

Background: Hand eczema is one of the most common dermatological disorders caused by various exogenous and endogenous factors. The condition that is frequently multifactorial, usually disabling or distressing to the sufferer, and often difficult to treat Objectives: To study the clinical types of contact allergic dermatitis of hands and to correlate the allergens related to allergic contact dermatitis of hands. Methodology: This study was conducted among 100 patients from February 2014 to November 2014, in the Department of Dermatology, Basaveshwar Medical College, Chitradurga. A diagnosis was made by nomenclature proposed by Epstein. Patients were patch tested with the Indian Standard Battery approved by the Contact and Occupational Dermatoses Forum of India (CODFI). Results: 45 (45%) of patients gave a positive history to aggravation by a contact with detergents and soaps, and 25 (25%) patients for cement.70 (70%) had bilateral involvement. Out of 100 patients patch tested, 70 patients (70%) gave positive patch test results, 30 patients (30%) were negative for patch test, 49 patients (49%) were sensitive to a single antigen, 19 patients (19%) were sensitive to two antigens and 2 patients (2%) was sensitive to multiple antigens. Potassium dichromate was the most common sensitizer in male compared to female at the ratio of 2.2:1. Nickel sulfate was the most common sensitizer in females at the ratio of 0.07:1. Conclusion: Hyperkeratotic eczema and patchy vesiculosquamous type of hand dermatitis were the common patterns, but clinical patterns and specific allergen association was inconclusive.