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Competing Interests: The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to declare.

Background and Objectives: Allergic contact dermatitis is a common dermatosis among military personnel. Given the unique military demands, it is not surprising that shoe dermatitis and textile dermatitis are common. Our study aimed to compare the clinical and demographic parameters between military personnel and civilians evaluated for the suspicion of shoe and textile dermatitis in a tertiary clinic in Israel., Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 295 patients who were referred to a tertiary clinic for evaluation because of suspected shoe or textile dermatitis. Eighty-eight of the patients were soldiers. The patch tests were tailored according to the clinical presentation and relevant exposures., Results: The 2 populations differed in several parameters. The duration of the dermatitis was longer in the civilian group. The atopy rate was significantly higher among military conscripts. The patch test reactivity and multiple patch test reactivity were lower in the army group. Dermatitis seen in the military group tended to be more widely distributed., Conclusions: Distinctive demographic and exposure patterns explain the differences observed between the 2 study groups. It is not surprising that irritant dermatitis is more common among military personnel, given the extreme military demands and higher atopy rate among soldiers.

Background: Formaldehyde is a widely used organic compound, used in several applications (hard thermoset resins, adhesives, disinfectants, tissue fixatives, etc), in its free form or released by formaldehyde releaser products. Its use is under control due to its toxic, carcinogenic, and allergenic properties., Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of formaldehyde sensitization, time trend, and correlation to occupations., Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study on a population of 23,774 patients tested from 1996 to 2012 in Northeastern Italy., Results: Frequency of sensitization was 3.3%, without any significant time trend. Hands (39.8% overall) and face (25.6% females, 15.5% males) were mainly involved. We found a trend toward decrease by age in females (3.11% in first quintile [14-26 years], 2.29% in fifth quintile [59-97 years], P < 0.01). On a logistic regression analysis (control group: white-collar workers), we found associations in health care (odds ratio [OR], 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-1.81), wood (OR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.30-3.51), and textile (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.14-2.79) sectors and professional drivers (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.05-3.60). We found a high rate of cosensitization to formaldehyde in patients with positive patch test reactions to quaternium-15 (OR, 18.7; 95% CI, 12.6-27.7)., Conclusions: Sensitization to formaldehyde is relevant in our population, especially in the health care sector, wood and textile industries, and professional drivers. No significant time trend was found.

Background: Recognition of allergic contact dermatitis attributed to textile dyes and resins is steadily increasing., Objective: This study aims to review the results of patch testing with a textile series at our institution and to compare with previously published reports., Methods: We performed a retrospective review of results in patients who underwent patch testing using a series of textile dyes and resins from January 1, 2000, through September 30, 2011., Results: A total of 671 patients (mean age, 56.5 years; female, 65.9%) were patch tested with the textile series (42 dyes and resins). These patients were also generally tested with the standard patch test series (n = 620). Of the patients, 219 (32.6%) demonstrated allergic reaction to 1 or more textile dyes and resins, and 71 (10.6%) manifested irritant reactions. The most frequent allergens were disperse blue 106 1% (8.3%), disperse blue 124 1% (8.0%), and melamine formaldehyde 7% (8.0%). Of patients tested with the standard series, 36 (5.8%) showed a positive reaction to the traditional textile screening allergen p-phenylenediamine 1%., Conclusions: Supplementing the standard series with the textile series increased detection of textile allergies. In patients suspected of textile allergy, addition of the textile series is necessary for appropriate diagnosis.

Background: It is known that some patch-test preparations containing disperse dyes contain impurities with unknown relevance for the development or elicitation of contact allergy., Objective: To evaluate the significance of the impurities found in the commercial dyes Disperse Orange 1 (DO1) and Disperse Yellow 3 (DY3) regarding contact allergy in patients with known sensitivity to them., Methods: Ten patients allergic to DY3 and/or DO1 were tested with a dilution series of commercial and purified DY3 and DO1 (with water-soluble parts prepared from the commercial dyes) and with naphthalene sulfonate. Nine patients were additionally tested with thin-layer chromatograms (TLCs) made from the commercial DO1 and DY3 and with paper chromatograms made from the water-soluble part of these dyes., Results: Eight of nine and three of six patients tested positively to the TLCs of DO1 and DY3, respectively. Among them, 4 of 8 and 2 of 3 patients, respectively, were positive also to another spot on the TLCs. One patient was positive to the paper chromatogram from the water-soluble part of DO1. None of the tested patients reacted to naphthalene sulfonate., Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that there are more relevant allergens in the fat-soluble and water-soluble fractions of the commercial disperse dyes.

The micronucleus (MN) assay in exfoliated buccal cells is a minimally invasive method for monitoring genetic damage in human populations and is used as an indicator of genotoxic exposition, as it is associated with chromosome aberrations. In this study, we evaluated MN frequencies and other nuclear changes (NCs), such as karyorrhexis (KR), karyolysis (KL), broken egg (BE), and binucleus in buccal mucosa cells of 50 carpet fabric workers (25 smokers and 25 nonsmokers) and 50 healthy control subjects (25 smokers and 25 nonsmokers). Microscopic observation of 2000 cells per individual was performed in both workers and control subjects. In both the control group and the exposed group, for each person a repair index (RI) was calculated via the following formula: (KR+KL)/(BE+MN). The results showed a statistically significant increase in the frequency of MN in buccal epithelial cells of exposed group compared with control group. There is a significant difference between worker and control groups (p<0.001) for RI. We believe that the calculation of RI values, in addition to nuclear changes, presents a new approach in risk assessment in relation to occupational exposure.

Formaldehyde-based resins have been used to create permanent-press finishes on fabrics since the 1920s. These resins have been shown to be potent sensitizers in some patients, leading to allergic contact dermatitis. This review summarizes the history of formaldehyde textile resin use, the diagnosis and management of allergic contact dermatitis from these resins, and current regulation of formaldehyde resins in textiles.

Despite a trend for reduction in the concentration of free formaldehyde in textiles, formaldehyde textile resin (FTR) allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) remains an important clinical issue and is likely underdiagnosed. Patients with FTR ACD may react to formaldehyde released from the resin or to the resin itself. Screening with formaldehyde and ethyleneurea/melamine formaldehyde resin will uncover most cases. Patch testing with the suspected offending fabric most often leads to false-negative results. We present a case of a 49-year-old pediatrician who developed a severe widespread dermatitis caused by contact with FTRs from her hospital "greens" ("scrubs") and mask.