Children with Atopic Dermatitis Should Always be Patch-tested if They Have Hand or Foot Dermatitis.

In industrialised countries atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common chronic inflammatory disease among children. Many factors influence this disease in a negative way and contact allergy is one such factor. The aim of the study was to examine the frequency of contact allergy among children with the diagnosis AD in Malmö, Sweden and to evaluate if a significant degree of contact allergies in these children is missed when not patch testing them. Contact allergy was found in 22/82 children (26.8%). The most common contact allergies were to Amerchol L101 (11.0%), potassium dichromate (7.3%), and nickel sulphate (4.9%). A statistically significant difference in contact allergy frequency was demonstrated for those with hand and/or foot eczema compared to those without. In conclusion, children with AD should be tested for contact allergy more often, especially in situation with therapy resistance and severe dermatitis, since this may indicate allergic contact dermatitis