Allergic contact dermatitis: a comparison between atopic and non-atopic individuals

ABSTRACT

To determine the prevalence of ACD in atopics in comparison to non-atopics in our community. Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study Departments of Dermatology, King Edward Medical College/Mayo Hospital, Lahore, from May 1998 to July 1999. Subjects and Two hundred and fifty patients, 34 with past or present atopic dermatitis [Group I], 88 with personal or familial atopy [Group II] and 128 non-atopic with contact dermatitis [Group III] were subjected to patch testing with European standard series. The results were interpreted according to International Contact Dermatitis Research Group guidelines. Positive reactions were seen in 50%, 70.4% and 67.8% of patients in the respective groups [p>0.05]. Our results suggest that atopics are equally affected with contact dermatitis as compared with non-atopics and recalcitrant cases of atopic dermatitis should be patch tested to find out aggravating factors