Increased rates of contact allergy to selected preservatives in patients with allergic contact dermatitis in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Preservatives are a frequent cause of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) and have caused numerous epidemics. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of preservative sensitivity, assess the change in the frequency of sensitivity, identify new preservatives with increased sensitivity rates, and evaluate the situation in Turkey by comparing our findings with current literature. METHODS: A total of 201 patients diagnosed with ACD between 2018 and 2020, were patch tested with the European baseline series and additional seven preservative haptens. The change in the prevalence of sensitivity to each preservative hapten was investigated by comparing the data from the study conducted in our department between 2000 and 2004. RESULTS: Results showed that 17.4% (n = 35) of the patients were positive to preservatives. Comparison with previous data from 2000 to 2004 revealed an increase in the frequency of sensitization. The most prevalent allergen was methyldibromo glutaronitrile (9.5%), followed by methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (6.5%), and methylisothiazolinone (5%). CONCLUSION: The increase in preservative sensitivity in Turkey is the most remarkable finding. Although MDBGN was prohibited in cosmetic products, MCI/MI and MI are still widely used. Our findings suggest that awareness of preservative sensitivity should be increased and additional precautions should be taken, also in Turkey, regarding the use of preservatives.

CD8+ cytotoxic mycosis fungoides: a retrospective analysis of clinical features and follow-up results of 29 patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Less than 5% of cases of mycosis fungoides (MF) present with a cytotoxic/suppressor CD8+ phenotype. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, treatment modalities, and clinical course in CD8+ MF patients. METHODS: In a retrospective analysis of 353 MF patients in a referral center at Ankara University, Turkey, 29 patients that were diagnosed with CD8+ MF were included in the study. RESULTS: CD8+ MF cases constituted 8.2% of all MF patients. The age at the time of diagnosis ranged between 6 and 81 years with a median value of 46 years. The female-to-male ratio was 1.41. Patients presented with erythematous scaly (69%), hyperpigmented (58.6%), poikilodermic (17.2%), and hypopigmented (17.2 %) patches/plaques. The most common sites of involvement were the trunk and lower extremities. The most common comorbidity was hypertension (24.1%, n: 7) with 13 patients (44.8%) having a history of at least one autoimmune disease. At the time of diagnosis, 93.2% of the patients had early-stage disease, and 6.8% of the patients had advanced stage. The mean follow-up period was 6.68 ± 6.04 years (range 1-28 years). Most of the patients were treated with skin-directed therapies. Complete remission was achieved in 17 (58.6%) patients, eight (27.6%) patients had partial remission, and four (13.8%) patients had stable disease. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that CD8+ MF is associated with an indolent course and in most patients, skin-directed therapies were found to be efficient to control the disease.