THE ALLERGEN-BANK - A SOURCE OF EXTRA CONTACT ALLERGENS FOR THE DERMATOLOGIST IN PRACTICE

The Allergen Bank was established to give dermatologists easy access t o special test materials in order to make early diagnoses of special c ases of allergic contact dermatitis. The Allergen Bank comprises a com puter system to register several hundred contact allergens in appropri ate patch test concentrations available at the allergy laboratory and the patch test results. At the request of dermatologists in practice t he Allergen Bank may supply special contact allergens for aimed patch testing of contact dermatitis patients. The organization of the Allerg en Bank and the procedure of its use are described. During its first 2 3 months 28 dermatologists asked for 2,209 allergen samples for testin g of 386 patients, an average of 6 allergens per patient and 14 patien ts per dermatologist. A total number of 164 positive reactions have be en registered, and 440 of the 540 allergens have been in use. One thir d of the positive reactions were caused by the 16 most frequently orde red allergens, which amounted to 340 allergen samples. The allergens i ncluded plant chemicals, acrylates, animal feed additives, fragrance c hemicals and preservatives. Selected allergens were investigated for s tability during handling and shipping under varying conditions relevan t to the function of the Allergen Bank. The possible inhomogeneity of petrolatum based allergen preparations is discussed in relation to dia gnostic patch testing.