ALLERGIC CONTACT REACTIONS DUE TO PHENYLEPHRINE HYDROCHLORIDE IN EYEDROPS

Background: Dermatitis of and around the eye is common. Allergic conta ct reactions from phenylephrine are rare despite extensive use by opht halmologists. Previous reports do not indicate crossreactivity between phenylephrine and other sympathomimetic drugs in patch testing. Metho ds: We report three cases of allergic contact reactions (dermato-conju nctivitis) after eyedrops. Skin prick tests, epicutaneous testing with the implicated drugs, additives, and a complete patch test battery, T RUE test (Upjohn-Pharmacia, Sweden), were performed in each patient. R esults: All skin prick tests were negative. The three patients showed positive patch tests to phenylephrine and one of them also to ephedrin e. Tolerance of the other eyedrops without phenylephrine was verified by challenge. Conclusion: Phenylephrine was the responsible agent for the reactions in our patients as confirmed by clinical findings and po sitive patch tests. Our findings suggest the central structure as the sensitizing part of drug in the second patient. Patch testing is essen tial for diagnosis of allergic contact reactions of and around the eye .