Allergic diseases of the skin and drug allergies – 2005. Common causes of allergic contact dermatitis in Kuwait

Background

Allergic contact dermatitis is caused by a variety of reagents.

Methods

We looked into the eliciting reagents causing allergic contact dermatitis among patients referred to a skin allergy clinic in Kuwait.

Results

Total of 153 patients with contact dermatitis were enrolled. Each patient was patch tested using (TRUE Test). The patch was removed after 48 hours and read after 96 hours. A positive reaction was scored according to the standard scoring system recommended by the international group. Mean age was 39.9 (SD 13.84) years old. Females were 78 ( 51%). Majority were Kuwaiti patients 76.5%. Occupation enquiry showed that 57.5% of patients had a desk job, while 23.5% were housewives, and 11.8% were students. Hand contact dermatitis was the most common indicator 45.1% for testing, followed by body and eyelid dermatitis, and hair dye 20.9%, 7.2, and 7.2%% respectively. History of contact to jewels or perfumes was only 2.6% and 3.3% respectively. The test was positive to at least one allergen in 94 (61.4%), with 27.5% having a strong (++) positive reaction, and 33.3% having an extreme (+++) positive reaction. P-phenylendiamine was the leading contact allergen in 31 patients (20.3%), followed by Nickel sulphate in 15 patients (9.8%), Thiomersal in 11 patients (7.2%), Wool alcohols in 6 patients (3.9%), Potassium dichromate in 6 (3.6%), and Epoxy resin in 5 (3.3%).

Conclusions

The nature of Allergens eliciting contact dermatitis in Kuwait is surprisingly similar to that of the western countries, in which hair dyes reagents and metals are a leading sensitize.