IRRITANT EFFECTS OF A DETERGENT IN WASH, CHAMBER AND REPEATED OPEN APPLICATION TESTS

Development of irritant contact reactions in a wash test, in a repeate d open application test (ROAT) and in chamber tests were compared with each other in 14 atopic and 14 non-atopic Caucasian medical students. In the wash test, the students washed their upper arm skin with 10% d ishwashing liquid for 1 min 2x a day for 1 week. In the ROAT, they app lied the same detergent solution to 1 antecubital fossa 2x daily for I week. Chamber tests were performed with the same detergent using 8 mm , 12 mm and 18 mm Finn Chambers(R) applied to the upper back skin for 48 h. Additional 4 h and 24 h occlusion times were used with the 12 mm Finn Chambers(R). Test results were evaluated on days 0, 2, 4 and 7 b y eye and by using an Evaporimeter EP1 for transepidermal water loss a nd a Minolta Chroma Meter CR-200 for skin colour. No statistically sig nificant differences between atopics and non-atopics were found in any of the tests. The results of the tests did not correlate with each ot her, with the exception of the 12 mm/48 h chamber test and the wash te st in atopics (R=0.61, p=0.02). It seems that other individual factors in addition to atopy influence the development of irritant contact de rmatitis. The results of the chamber test and ROAT predicted poorly th e result of the wash test. (C) Munksgaard, 1996.