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Background: Fragrance chemicals constitute the second most frequent cause of contact allergy in Spain. There are no data available concerning the individual fragrances that are most frequently involved., Objectives: To describe the diagnostic contribution provided by specific fragrance series to the results obtained with baseline series fragrance markers by correlating the results of both series., Materials and Methods: We performed a 5-year retrospective study of fragrance marker-positive patients tested with specific fragrance series in 23 Spanish centres. We collected the demographic and clinical characteristics, and compared the results of patch tests obtained from different suppliers., Results: Of 19 588 patients patch tested with the Spanish baseline series, 1590 (8.1%) reacted positively to a fragrance marker. Of these, 1013 (63.7%) were patch tested with a fragrance series, and 664 patients reacted positively to at least one individual fragrance other than hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde. Geraniol was the most frequent allergen. Positive reactions to substances not included in fragrance mix (FM) I or FM II were found in 230 patients. Of the 436 FM I-positive patients and the 419 FM II-positive patients, 184 (42%) and 64 (39.1%), respectively, had no positive reactions to fragrance series. In the case of FM I, negative results were more common when individual fragrances were patch tested at low concentrations., Conclusions: We recommend patch testing all patients positive for any fragrance marker with a specific fragrance series. The correlation between the results of baseline series and fragrance series could be improved by increasing the concentrations of individual fragrances., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Contact allergy to fragrances is common, and impairs quality of life, particularly in young women., Objective: To provide current results on the prevalences of sensitization to fragrance allergens used as markers in the baseline series of most European countries., Methods: Data of patients consecutively patch tested between 2009 and 2012 in 12 European countries with fragrance allergens contained in the baseline series were collected by the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergies network and descriptively analysed. Four departments used the TRUE Test(®) system., Results: The 'basic markers' were tested on 51 477 [fragrance mix II (FM II)] to 57 123 [Myroxylon pereirae, balsam of Peru] patients, and yielded positive reactions as follows: fragrance mix I 6.9%, Myroxylon pereirae 5.4%, FM II 3.8%, colophonium 2.6%, and hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde 1.7%, with some regional differences. Prevalences with TRUE Test(®) allergens were lower. Additional fragrances were tested on 3643 (trimethylbenzenepropanol) to 14 071 (oil of turpentine) patients, and yielded between 2.6% (Cananga odorata) and 0.7% (trimethylbenzenepropanol) positive reactions., Conclusions: Contact allergy to fragrances is common throughout Europe, with regional variation probably being explained by patch test technique, and differences in exposure and referral patterns. The current basic markers of fragrance sensitivity in the baseline series should be supplemented with additional fragrance allergens., (© 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)