EPICUTANEOUS PATCH TESTING WITH AN EMULSI FIER, ADDITIVE, AND VEHICLESERIES - RESULTS OF THE INFORMATION NETWORK OF DERMATOLOGICAL CLINICS(IVDK)

As part of the multi center project ''Information Network of Dermatolo gical Clinics'' (Informationsverband Dermatologischer Kliniken, IVDK), 2159 patients (of which 59 % were female) from eight dermatologic cli nics were tested with the emulsifier series as proposed by the German Contact Dermatitis Research Group (DKG). Following the normal rating o f reactions according to the ICDRG, the reaction index as presented by Brasch and Henseler was determined The results of patch-testing singl e substances also as part of this project of the standard and preserva tive series were used as a comparison. The patients differed from thos e of the standard series in that elderly patients (22 %), patients wit h leg dermatitis (15 %) and neurodermatitis (48 %) are more often and those with hand eczema (30 %) less often represented here than in the standard series. The frequency of allergic reactions was 8 %. Of 14 su bstances tested, only four proved a frequency above 1 %, those were st earylalcohol, cetylstearylalcohol tert.-butylhyarochinone, and lanolin creme. Only these substances have a positive reaction index. Therefor e, the composition of the series and the actual test modalities need t o be critically discussed. The following topics are proposed for revie w: 1. Since there are probably not substance-specific but group-specif ic sensitizations to at least two parts of the higher aliphatic alcoho ls, the stearylalcohol mix on the one hand and wool wax alcohols on th e other are to be tested as search allergens. 2. Stearylalcohol and ce tyl/stearylalcohol should both be included in the standard series. 3. Testing cetylalcohol is not necessary if either cetly/stearylalcohol o r stearylalcohol are tested.