Screening for contact allergy to artificial nails.

27 patients (26 women and 1 man), all in contact with artificial nails, were tested for acrylic compounds, known to be present in nail cosmetics. The patch test results obtained in these patients demonstrated that 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and ethyl cyanoacrylate were the only 2 allergens needed to diagnose contact allergy to acrylic-containing nail cosmetics, except for 1 patient who reacted only to her nail preparation used and in which we were unable to identify the allergen. This concerns clearly a limited number of patients. The purpose was, however, to detect the most valuable allergen(s) to be used in a dermatologist's practice, in which not all possible allergens can be tested, in order to diagnose such cases.