PROTEIN CONTACT-DERMATITIS - MYTH OR REALITY

Protein contact dermatitis is a dermatosis which usually presents as a chronic eczema with episodic acute exacerbations a few minutes after contact with the offending allergen. Patch tests with the responsible allergen are usually negative, and the diagnosis can only be made by m eans of scratch or prick tests with the allergen. Sometimes, specific IgE antibodies can be detected in the blood. As there is considerable confusion about this entity, we have reviewed the cases reported in th e literature.