Frequency of Contact Dermatitis in Patients with Chronic Dermatitis Referring to Dermatology Clinics in Kerman

Introduction: Allergic and irritant compounds are frequent in nature, and the environmental allergic factors which can induce or exacerbate eczema are different and often unknown in different areas. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of contact dermatitis in patients with chronic dermatitis referring to dermatology clinics in kerman. Methods: In this descriptive study, standard patch test containing 24 allergens was done for 156 cases (56 males and 69 females) with confirmed chronic dermatitis who had been referred to Afzalipoor Hospital Dermatology Clinics. Evaluation of the results was done for every case 24, 48 and 72 hours after application of the patch test. Results: In whole, 153 positive patch tests were seen in 66 (52.8%) cases of 125 patients who had been examined. The most common allergic agent was nickel sulfate detected in 20 (13.1%) patients (17 females and 3 males). The hypersensitivity reaction to this agent was significantly more common in females than males (P<0.05). Potassium dichromate with frequency of 11.1% (12 males and 5 females) was the second common allergic agent and males showed significantly more positive reaction to this agent than females (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference according to the age and sex between groups with positive and negative patch test results (P>0.05). Conclusion: As the causative agents of contact dermatitis are different in various areas, by doing patch test in each area the allergic agents can be detected for more appropriate preventive measures and treatmentstrategies. In this study, the first and second common allergens were respectively Nickel and Chrome compounds. Thiorum, Cobalt, benzocaine and theazolin compounds were in the third rank.