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Background: In recent years, skin reactions secondary to the use of medical devices (MD), such as allergic contact dermatitis have increasingly been observed (e.g. to continuous blood sugar monitoring systems, insulin pumps, wound dressings, medical gloves, etc.): this is regarded as a developing epidemic. Lack of labelling of the composition of MD, as well as frequent lack of cooperation of manufacturers to disclose this relevant information, even when contacted by the clinician for the individual case of an established adverse reaction, significantly impede patient care. Objectives: To advocate for full ingredient labelling in the implementation of EU regulation for MD. Methods: This position paper reviews the scientific literature, the current regulatory framework adopted for MD to date, and the likely impact, including some costs data in case of the absence of such labelling. Results: Efforts made by several scientific teams, who are trying to identify the culprit of such adverse effects, either via asking for cooperation from companies, or using costly chemical analyses of MD, can only partly, and with considerable delay, compensate for the absence of meaningful information on the composition of MD; hence, patient management is compromised. Indeed, without knowing the chemical substances present, physicians are unable to inform patients about which substances they should avoid, and which alternative MD may be suitable/tolerated. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for full and accurate labelling of the chemical composition of MD in contact with the human body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Methylisothiazolinone (MI) has caused an unprecedented epidemic of contact allergy in Europe and elsewhere. Subsequently, regulatory action has been taken, at least in Europe, aiming at reducing risk of MI sensitization. Objective: To follow‐up on the prevalence of contact allergy to MI in consecutively patch tested patients and assess the spectrum of products containing MI or methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI)/MI in patients positive to MI which elicited current allergic contact dermatitis. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey was performed in 2016 and 2017, including all adult patients patch tested with the baseline series (including MI 0.2% aq.) between 1 May and 31 October at 14 centres in 11 European countries. Patients with positive reactions (+ to +++) to MI were further examined regarding history, clinical characteristics and eliciting products, which were categorized into 34 types and 4 classes (leave‐on, rinse‐off, household, occupational). The results were compared with the reference year 2015. Results: A total of 317 patients, n = 202 of 4278 tested in 2016 (4.72%) and n = 115 of 3879 tested in 2017 (2.96%), had positive reactions to MI; the previous result from 2015 was 5.97% (P < 0.0001). The share of currently relevant contact allergy among all positive reactions declined significantly as well (P = 0.0032). Concerning product classes, a relative decline of leave‐on and a relative increase of rinse‐off and household products was noted. Conclusion: The prevalence of MI contact allergy decreased by 50% from 2015 to 2017. As a consequence of regulation, the share of cosmetics products (leave‐on in particular) eliciting allergic contact dermatitis is decreasing. The chosen method of analysing causative products in sensitized patients has proven useful to monitor effects of intervention. Linked article: J.‐M. Lachapelle. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2020; 34: 218. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.16174. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background As for hand eczema, the aetiology of foot eczema is multifactorial and not very well understood. The aim of the present study was to identify factors associated with foot eczema in a cohort of hand eczema patients being classified into different subgroups. Methods Associations between foot and hand eczema were studied in a cross-sectional design in a cohort of hand eczema patients. Consecutive patients were recruited from nine different European Centres during the period October 2011-September 2012. Data on demographic factors, presence of foot eczema, hand eczema duration and severity, and whether the hand eczema was work-related or not were available, as well as patch-test results. Results Of a total of 427 hand eczema patients identified, information on foot eczema was available in 419 patients who were included in the present study. A total of 125 patients (29.8%) had concomitant foot and hand eczema. It was found more often in association with hyperkeratotic hand eczema ( P = 0.007) and was less often associated with irritant hand eczema ( P < 0.001). However, foot eczema was nevertheless found in 18% of patient with irritant hand eczema and in 25% of patients with occupational hand eczema. Combined foot and hand eczema was associated with more severe and long-standing hand eczema ( P < 0.001 and P = 0.004, respectively). Contact allergy was found in 51.8% with no difference between patients with combined foot and hand eczema and patients with hand eczema only. Conclusion Occurrence of combined foot and hand eczema is a common finding and not restricted to endogenous hand eczema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Isocyanates are used as starting materials of polyurethane (PU) products. They are relatively important occupational skin sensitizers., Objectives: To analyse results of a large isocyanate patch test series of 19 isocyanate test substances and 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (MDA), a marker of 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) hypersensitivity., Methods: Test files were screened for positive reactions in the isocyanate series. Patients with positive reactions were analysed for occupation, exposure and diagnosis., Results: In 2010-2019, 53 patients had positive reactions in the series (16% of 338 patients tested). MDA, the well-established screening substance for MDI allergy, was positive in 30 patients, an in-house monomeric MDI test substance in 23 patients and 3 different polymeric MDI test substances in 19-21 patients. We diagnosed 16 cases of occupational allergic contact dermatitis (OACD) from MDI including 3 pipe reliners. Hexamethylene-1,6-diisocyanate (HDI) oligomers in paint hardeners caused 5 cases of OACD, more cases than 2,4-toluene diisocyanate (TDI; n = 3) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI; n = 1) put together., Conclusions: In contrast to previous studies, polymeric MDI test substances were not superior to a monomeric MDI. Pipe reliners may get sensitised not only by epoxy products and acrylates but also by MDI in hardeners of PU pipe coatings. HDI oligomers were the second most important causes of OACD after MDI., (© 2024 The Author(s). Contact Dermatitis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Artificial nail materials are mixtures that are prone to contain several sensitizing (meth)acrylates. It is not known whether the listing of (meth)acrylates is correct in these products' packages. Protective gloves suited for nail work are needed., Objectives: To analyse (meth)acrylates in gel nail and acrylic nail products chemically and to compare the results with the information in the product labels, and to study penetration of artificial nail materials through selected disposable gloves., Methods: We analysed 31 gel nail products and 6 acrylic nail products for their (meth)acrylate content by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We tested the penetration of two nail products through three disposable gloves: nitrile rubber, neoprene rubber and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)., Results: Altogether 32/37 products contained (meth)acrylates. In all of them, there was discrepancy between the listed (meth)acrylates and those discovered in the analysis. The commonest (meth)acrylates were hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA, 20/37 samples) and hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA, 9/37 samples), but many of the product packages failed to declare them. Isobornyl acrylate (IBA) was discovered in nine gel nail products. The neoprene glove could withstand nail gel for 20 min and thin nitrile glove and PVC glove for 5 min. Acrylic nail liquid penetrated through disposable gloves quickly., Conclusions: Labelling of artificial nail products was notably incorrect on most products. Requirements for product labelling must be updated so that the risk of sensitization associated with artificial nail products is clearly indicated. Disposable gloves can probably be used short-term in gel nail work, whereas disposable gloves do not protect the user from acrylic nail liquids., (© 2023 The Authors. Contact Dermatitis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Commercial patch test substances do not cover all occupational contact allergens. Workplace materials and in-house test substances are tested to complement the investigation of occupational skin disease (OSD)., Objectives: To quantify the additional value of testing workplace materials and non-commercial in-house test substances in the diagnosis of OSD., Materials and Methods: Patients files of 544 patients patch tested at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in 2015-2019 were reviewed for occupation, diagnoses and patch test results., Results: OSD was diagnosed in 353 (64.9%) of the patients. A total of 206 (37.9%) patients had occupational allergic contact dermatitis (OACD). In 19 (3.5%) patients, the only clues to the diagnoses of OACD were positive reactions to workplace materials, and in 20 (3.7%) patients, the diagnosis of OACD was based on commercially unavailable test substances. In 167 OACD cases diagnosed by commercial test substances, additional causes were found in 17 by testing patients' own and non-commercial test substances. In 43 (7.9%) cases, positive reactions to workplace materials reinforced diagnoses based on commercial test substances. The overall additive value of testing own products was 16.7% (91 cases)., Conclusion: We would have missed 39 (18.9%) of our 206 OACD cases if we had solely used commercial test substances., (© 2022 The Authors. Contact Dermatitis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The practical importance of two recently described epoxy hardener allergens-1,3-benzenedimethanamine, N-(2-phenylethyl) derivatives (1,3-BDMA-D) and hydrogenated formaldehyde benzenamine polymer (FBAP)-as occupational allergens remains to be defined., Objectives: To describe patients diagnosed at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) with positive reactions to 1,3-BDMA-D or FBAP., Methods: We searched FIOH's patch-test files from January 2017 to December 2020 for patients examined due to suspected occupational contact allergy to epoxy compounds. We analyzed the patch-test results and sources of exposure to various epoxy hardeners and focused on occupations, symptoms, and the sources of exposure to 1,3-BDMA-D and FBAP., Results: During the study period, 102 patients were examined at FIOH for suspected occupational contact allergy to epoxy compounds. Of these, 19 (19%) were diagnosed with contact allergy to 1,3-BDMA-D (n = 10) or FBAP (n = 12). The largest occupational group was sewage pipe reliners (n = 8). Seven different hardener products contained FBAP, whereas 1,3-BDMA-D was present in only one hardener used by spray painters., Conclusions: A substantial number of patients with suspected occupational epoxy resin system allergy tested positive to in-house test substances of 1,3-BDMA-D and/or FBAP., (© 2022 The Authors. Contact Dermatitis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Formaldehyde is an important contact sensitizer. Formaldehyde releasing substances induce positive reactions in formaldehyde-allergic patients, but there are also reactions independent of formaldehyde allergy. In an earlier study, stronger formaldehyde reactions led to more positive reactions to quaternium-15., Objectives: To analyze patterns of positive patch test reactions to formaldehyde and different formaldehyde releasers., Methods: Patch test files of 1497 patients investigated during the period November 2007-August 2020 were retrospectively reviewed for positive reactions to formaldehyde and its releasers. During the study period, almost all (≥99.3%) patients were tested with a formaldehyde dilution series and six formaldehyde releasers., Results: Ninety-three patients tested positive to formaldehyde; 80% of these had positive reactions to at least one formaldehyde releaser, most often benzylhemiformal. There were only nine independent contact allergies to formaldehyde releasers. There were only two reactions to 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol and they occurred in formaldehyde-negative patients. In patients with extreme (+++) reactions to formaldehyde, concomitant positive reactions to any of the other 11 investigated formaldehyde releasers were more common than in patients with milder formaldehyde reactions., Conclusions: Strong formaldehyde reactions were associated with positive reactions to formaldehyde releasers., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Health care workers are an important risk group for occupational skin disease (OSD)., Aims: To study diagnoses and causes of OSDs in health care workers in the Finnish Register of Occupational Diseases (FROD) in 2005-2016., Methods: We searched the FROD for dermatological cases (a) in health care-related occupations defined by ISCO-08 and (b) in the industrial branch of health care defined by European industry standard classification system (NACE rev. 2)., Results: Health care workers comprised 19% of all OSD cases in the FROD, and irritant contact dermatitis dominated the diagnoses. Nurses and assistant nurses were the largest occupational groups with incidence rates of 3.3 and 2.7/10 000 person years, respectively. Rubber chemicals were by far the most common causative agents of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) followed by preservatives, the latter mainly comprising isothiazolinones and formaldehyde. Acrylates were important allergens in dental professions. Metals and coconut fatty acid derivatives were the next largest causative groups for ACD. Drugs caused only 1% of the ACD cases., Conclusions: Workers in different health care occupations do not have a uniform risk for OSD, but they share the risk for ACD due to rubber chemicals and various preservatives., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Contact allergy from acrylic compounds is a "hot topic". Knowledge on the exact chemical composition of acrylic products is superficial., Aims: To retrospectively describe patients with allergic reactions to acrylic compounds., Methods: We included patients who had been tested with acrylate patch test series and displayed allergic reactions to at least one acrylic compound. Chemical analyses were often performed when safety data sheets of implicated products failed to reveal acrylic compounds to which the patient tested positive., Results: In 2010-2019 a total of 55 patients met the inclusion criteria. Eight cases of allergic contact dermatitis were due to anaerobic sealants, seven to dental products, three to windscreen glues, seven to eyelash glues and/or nail products in the beauty sector, three to UV-cured printing inks, two to paints/lacquers, and one to polyester resin system. The origin of these contact allergies was occupational with the exception of four beauty sector workers who had developed eyelid symptoms from eyelash extensions glued onto their own eyelashes. We invariably detected methacrylate monomers in 15 chemical analyses of 12 different anaerobic sealants., Conclusions: Safety data sheets of anaerobic sealants often lack warnings for skin sensitization, although these products regularly contain sensitizing methacrylates., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S . Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Hairdressers have a high risk of occupational contact dermatitis caused by exposure to wet work and allergens in hairdressing chemicals., Objectives: To examine the distribution of diagnoses of occupational skin diseases (OSDs) and their main causes in hairdressers based on a national register data on occupational diseases., Methods: We retrieved cases of recognized OSDs in hairdressers from the Finnish Register of Occupational Diseases (FROD) in years 2005-2018., Results: During the 14-year period, a total of 290 cases of recognized OSD in hairdressers were registered in the FROD. Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) was diagnosed in 54%, irritant contact dermatitis in 44%, and contact urticaria (CU) in 5% of them. ACD was most commonly caused by hair dye products and their ingredients (N = 57), persulfates (N = 35), and preservatives (N = 35; mainly isothiazolinones). Acrylates emerged as hairdressers' occupational contact allergens (N = 8) probably due to introduction of structure nails into hair salons. Persulfates was the most common cause of CU., Conclusions: ACD was the most common OSD in hairdressers. Our analysis confirms that preservatives are important causes of ACD in hairdressers in addition to hair dye products and persulfates. Acrylates emerged as hairdressers' occupational contact allergens, but contact allergy to perming agents remained rare., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S . Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Contact dermatitis tremendously impacts the quality of life of suffering patients. Currently, diagnostic regimes rely on allergy testing, exposure specification, and follow-up visits; however, distinguishing the clinical phenotype of irritant and allergic contact dermatitis remains challenging. Employing integrative transcriptomic analysis and machine-learning approaches, we aimed to decipher disease-related signature genes to find suitable sets of biomarkers. A total of 89 positive patch-test reaction biopsies against four contact allergens and two irritants were analyzed via microarray. Coexpression network analysis and Random Forest classification were used to discover potential biomarkers and selected biomarker models were validated in an independent patient group. Differential gene-expression analysis identified major gene-expression changes depending on the stimulus. Random Forest classification identified CD47 , BATF , FASLG , RGS16 , SYNPO , SELE , PTPN7 , WARS , PRC1 , EXO1 , RRM2 , PBK , RAD54L , KIFC1 , SPC25 , PKMYT , HISTH1A , TPX2 , DLGAP5 , TPX2 , CH25H , and IL37 as potential biomarkers to distinguish allergic and irritant contact dermatitis in human skin. Validation experiments and prediction performances on external testing datasets demonstrated potential applicability of the identified biomarker models in the clinic. Capitalizing on this knowledge, novel diagnostic tools can be developed to guide clinical diagnosis of contact allergies., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest., (Copyright © 2020 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

Background: Construction workers are a known risk group for occupational skin disease (OSD)., Objectives: To study diagnoses and causes of OSD in construction workers in the Finnish Register of Occupational Diseases (FROD) 2005-2016., Materials and Methods: We searched the FROD for dermatological cases in (a) construction-related occupations defined by the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08) and (b) in the industrial branch of construction defined by the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2)., Results: The two searches yielded the same number of cases, 329, although they were not identical subgroups. The number of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) cases was 235 (71%) in construction-related occupations and 228 (69%) in the industrial branch of construction. In the latter analysis, synthetic resin systems caused 66% of ACD cases and 46% of all OSDs, epoxy compounds being the leading cause (122 cases; 54% of ACD cases; 37% of all OSDs). Metals were the second most common group of causes of ACD with 31 cases (chrome 22 cases; cobalt 8 cases). Isothiazolinones caused ACD in 21 cases, many of whom were painters., Conclusions: ACD dominated the OSDs of construction workers and epoxy products were by far the leading cause comprising 37% of all OSDs. Chrome and isothiazolinones were also prominent causes of ACD., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Although occupational contact urticaria (CU) and protein contact dermatitis (PCD) are considered frequent among workers with exposure to proteinaceous materials, data on occupations at risk and the main causes of these occupational skin diseases are relatively limited., Objectives: To report the causative agents and risk occupations for CU and PCD in the Finnish Register of Occupational Diseases (FROD)., Methods: We retrieved from the FROD all recognized cases of CU/PCD in the years 2005-2016., Results: With 570 cases, CU and PCD constituted 11% of all recognized cases of occupational skin diseases in the study period. Occupations with the highest incidence of CU/PCD included bakers, chefs and cooks, farmers and farm workers, veterinarians, gardeners, and hairdressers. The most common causative agents were cow dander and flour and grain, followed by natural rubber latex (NRL) and other food. In food-related occupations, wheat and other flours were by far the most common cause of CU/PCD, with 76 cases, whereas fish and other animal-derived food caused 33 and other plant-derived food caused 23 cases., Conclusions: Apart from the Finnish peculiarity of cow dander allergy, a striking finding was a large share of CU/PCD caused by flours in food handlers as compared to other food., (© 2020 The Authors. Contact Dermatitis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Detailed epidemiological studies on occupational skin diseases (OSDs) are scarce., Objectives: To analyze risk occupations for OSDs in the Finnish Register of Occupational Diseases (FROD)., Methods: We retrieved numbers of OSD cases (excluding skin infections) for different occupations from the FROD in 2005-2016. In the FROD, Finnish ISCO-08-based classification of occupations was used since 2011, and the preceding ISCO-88-based version until 2010. We combined cases from the earlier and the later period using conversion tables provided by Statistics Finland. We included occupations with at least five cases and analyzed them in detail. We calculated incidence rates for OSDs and separately for allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) in different risk occupations using national labor force statistics. We also studied causes of ACD in these occupations., Results: Risk occupations with the largest number of OSD cases included farmers, hairdressers, assistant nurses, cooks, cleaners, machinists, and nurses. Occupations with the highest incidences of OSDs comprised spray painters (23.8/10 000 person years), bakers (20.4), and dental technicians (19.0). Epoxy compounds and acrylates were prominent causes of ACD in occupations with the highest incidences of ACD., Conclusions: Uniform use of International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) would facilitate comparisons of OSD figures in different countries., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Skin diseases are among the most common occupational diseases, but detailed analyses on their epidemiology, diagnoses, and causes are relatively scarce., Objectives: To analyze data on skin disease in the Finnish Register of Occupational Diseases (FROD) for (1) different diagnoses and (2) main causes of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD)., Methods: We retrieved data on recognized cases with occupational skin disease (OSD) in the FROD from a 12-year-period 2005-2016 and used national official labor force data of the year 2012., Results: We analyzed a total of 5265 cases, of which 42% had irritant contact dermatitis (ICD), 35% ACD, 11% contact urticaria/protein contact dermatitis (CU/PCD), and 9% skin infections. The incidence rate of OSD in the total labor force was 18.8 cases/100 000 person years. Skin infections concerned mainly scabies in health care personnel. Twenty-nine per cent of the ACD cases were caused by plastics/resins-related allergens, mainly epoxy chemicals. Other important causes for ACD were rubber, preservatives, metals, acrylates, and hairdressing chemicals. Cases of occupational ACD due to isothiazolinones reached a peak in 2014., Conclusion: Our analysis confirms that epoxy products are gaining importance as causes of OSD and the isothiazolinone contact allergy epidemic has started to wane., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)