Patch testing in Lao medical students

Dermatological services in Laos, South East Asia are limited to the capital and patch testing is currently not available, so no data exists regarding the common cutaneous allergens in this population. The aim of this study was to document positive patch tests in medical students without evidence of contact dermatitis in Laos. One hundred and fifty medical students were patch tested using TRUE Test® panels 1 to 3 (35 allergens). Readings were taken at Days 2 and 4. Thirty-eight students (25.3%) had a positive reaction to at least one allergen, accounting for 52 reactions in total. The proportion of the students with positive patch test reading was significantly higher in the female [33/96 (34%)] than in the male [5/54 (9%)], p