Original paper
Analysis of standard patch test results performed in patients hospitalized in the Department of Dermatology, University of Medical Science in Poznań from 2003-2005

Introduction: Contact eczema is one of the most frequent skin diseases. According to the aetiopathogenesis it can be divided into allergic and non-allergic type. Patch testing is a valuable diagnostic method in the investigation of patients with allergic contact dermatitis.
Aim: To evaluate patch test results of 284 patients referred to the Department of Dermatology University of Medical Science in Poznań between 2003 and 2005.
Material and methods: 284 subjects with suspected immunological type IV reaction in observed skin lesions were included in the study. Patients were tested with the same series of allergens by using the standardized patch testing method.
Results: Clinical symptoms of eczema were observed in 71.5% of patients and allergic contact dermatitis was confirmed in 35% of the analyzed group. A total of 38 patients (53.5%) suffering from contact dermatitis presented as one positive patch test reaction. The most frequent confirmed allergens were compounds such as nickel sulphate and cobalt chloride. Allergens which never produced positive results were neomycin, IPPD, turpentine, parabens and Vaseline.
Conclusions: Allergic contact eczema is observed more rarely than non-allergic type. Allergic eczema is mostly recognized in women after 50 years of age. The most frequently sensitizing allergens were nickel sulphate and cobalt chloride. The diversity of results presented in studies from different authors and the variability of patch test results over time suggest the need for constant monitoring.