Allergic contact dermatitis in children; has there been a change in allergens?

Summary Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is now recognized as a common relevant diagnosis in children. We reviewed the results of patch tests in children under 16 years of age over the 3‐year period January 2009 to December 2011, comparing the results with those in a similar 3‐year retrospective study performed in our unit for the period August 1999 to September 2002. In total, there were 137 children (70 girls and 67 boys) aged 3–15 years enrolled. Of these, 28 girls (40%) and 22 boys (32.8%) had a positive reaction to at least one allergen, with nickel sulfate and potassium dichromate being the most common allergens, each having an incidence of 7.2%, in contrast to the 20% incidence of nickel allergy in 1999–2002. The rate of fragrance allergy was unchanged at 5.8%, and rubber allergy incidence was greatly reduced. These results show that allergens may be changing in children, and that patch testing is still a useful test to consider.