Protein Contact Dermatitis

Overview

Protein contact dermatitis (PCD) is according to contemporary views a chronic relapsing eczemain response to proteins which develops as a result of a combined early and late type ofimmunoallergic sensitivity. It affects atopic and non-atopic subjects, the domaine is above allfood allergy and the hand (forearm).In the diagnosis of PCD above all major suspicion of exposure, the clinical picture, skin testsfor early allergy are important (scratch, scratch-patch tests, prick-tests, i.c. tests) supplementedby specific IgE. Simple patch tests produce almost always false negative reactions and may bethe source of major diagnostic errors: normal values of specific IgE do not rule out immunereactivity either.Definition (and knowledge) of this subtype in the group of contact eczema is an importantcontribution to diagnosis in practice and to medical assessment as previously some patientswith PCD (in particular of the hands) were not correctly diagnosed and classified. It is expedientto preserve the subtype of protein contact dermatitis as an itemin the mosaic of contact eczema.

Key words:
protein contact dermatitis - skin tests - IgE - contact eczema.