A Study of the Patch Test Results with Preservative Antigens for Patients with Suspected Cosmetic Contact Dermatitis

Jung, Jae Yoon; Jugee, Narmandakh; Hong, Jong Soo; Eun, Hee Chul

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Preservatives are important contact allergens. However, any reports that have focused on them are relatively scanty in Korea.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of preservative allergy in patients with suspected cosmetic contact dermatitis.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the patch test results and medical recordings of the patients who were suspected of having cosmetic contact dermatitis from January 2003 to December 2008 and who visited Seoul National University Hospital. A total of 330 patients (males: 69, females: 261) were enrolled in our study and the medical records included the patients' demographic information, the site of contact dermatitis, the past dermatologic diseases and the duration of the disease. We used 30 cosmetic preservative antigens.
RESULTS
The mean age of the patients was 42.5 years and the most common age of the group with contact dermatitis was in the forties. The most prevalent site for contact dermatitis was the face (60.3%). Forty nine patients (14.8%) had a past history of atopic dermatitis. A hundred thirty nine patients (42.1%) showed at least one positive patch test result. Thiomerosal showed the highest patch test rate (10.6%), followed by cocamidopropylbetaine (8.1%), Euxyl K400 (7.8%), Dodecyl gallate (6.9%) and Octyl gallate (6.6%).
CONCLUSION
As the positive rate of a patch test with preservative antigens was relatively high, certain preservative antigens contained in the cosmetic series should be included in the patch test for patients with suspected cosmetic contact dermatitis.