COMPARISON OF SIMULTANEOUS PATCH TESTING WITH PARTHENOLIDE AND SESQUITERPENE LACTONE MIX

Several studies have pointed out that the sesquiterpene lactone (SL) m ix is a safe, though inadequate, screen for Compositae allergy. To tes t the usefulness of the sesquiterpene lactone parthenolide as a supple mentary Compositae screening test to the mix, both were included in th e standard series in 2 Danish dermatology departments. Among 2244 pati ents tested, 46 (2%) were positive to SL mix and 73-75% of these were positive to parthenolide. The results demonstrate that parthenolide is not suitable as a supplementary screening agent to SL mix, but may be a fairly good screen on its own if the mix is not available. (C) Munk sgaard, 1998.