Fragrance series testing in eyelid dermatitis.

BACKGROUND

Allergic contact dermatitis is considered one of the most common causes of eyelid dermatitis. In addition to metals and topical antibiotics, fragrances have emerged as a leading source of contact allergy for individuals with this condition.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to determine the added benefit of including a fragrance tray when patch testing patients presenting with eyelid dermatitis.

METHODS

During a 4.5-year period, all patients with suspected allergic contact dermatitis involving the eyelids were patch tested with both standard and fragrance trays.

RESULTS

One hundred consecutive patients with eyelid dermatitis were patch tested. Of these patients, 42 (42%) tested positive for 1 or more allergens within the fragrance series. Of these patients, 15 (36%) had no fragrance markers detected on the standard series, and these allergens would therefore have been missed had fragrance series testing not been performed. Overall, fragrance markers within the standard series detected 73.2% (41/56) of cases of fragrance allergy.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that there may be a significant benefit to fragrance series testing in patients with eyelid dermatitis. Fragrance tray inclusion in this population may identify additional cases of fragrance allergy that are missed by the standard series.