Results of patch testing with fragrance mix 1, fragrance mix 2, and their ingredients, and Myroxylon pereirae and colophonium, over a 21-year period.

Background: The frequency of fragrance contact allergy has shown a fluctuating trend over the years.

Objectives: To describe the frequency of positive reactions to the baseline screening agents and fragrance mix (FM) 1 and 2 components, to determine trends of the latter over the years, and to evaluate simultaneous reactions.

Patients And Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on patch test results of 13 332 patients from January 1990 to December 2011.

Non-fragrance allergens in specific cosmetic products.

Objectives: Reports about the nature of the ingredients responsible for allergic contact dermatitis caused by specific cosmetic products are scarce.

Methods: Between January 2000 and December 2010, the specific cosmetic products having caused allergic contact dermatitis, as well as the individual allergenic cosmetic ingredients present in them, were recorded by use of a standardized form.

Results: Among 11 different categories of cosmetic product, skin care products, followed by hair care and body-cleansing products, were most often involved.

Fragrance allergens in 'specific' cosmetic products.

Background: Together with preservative agents, fragrance components are the most important sensitizing culprits in cosmetic products.

Objectives: To identify the nature of the fragrance ingredients responsible for allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) from specific cosmetic products.

Methods: Between 2000 and 2009, positive patch test reactions or positive usage tests with the patients' own cosmetic products, were recorded using a standardised form.

Allergic contact dermatitis to inhalation corticosteroids.

Inhaled and intranasal corticosteroids (CS) are used to treat various inflammatory or allergic diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract. Despite their wide use, only a few reports about their sensitization potential have been published. We determined the frequency, clinical signs and molecules responsible for skin allergic reactions following inhalation of corticosteroids amongst patients with identified and investigated "contact allergy" to corticosteroids.

Delayed hypersensitivity to corticosteroids in a series of 315 patients: clinical data and patch test results.

Background: Corticosteroids may cause immediate or delayed hypersensitivity. In 1989, based on structural and clinical characteristics, we put forward a classification of corticosteroids into four cross-reacting groups, namely group A, B, C, and D, the latter later subdivided into two subgroups, i.e.

Allergic contact dermatitis from fragrance components in specific topical pharmaceutical products in Belgium.

Objectives: To determine which topical pharmaceutical products marketed in Belgium contain fragrances and to examine the nature of the fragrance allergens in specific pharmaceutical products having caused iatrogenic contact dermatitis.

Methods: All topical pharmaceutical products marketed in Belgium, that is 3820 products, were examined as to their fragrance content as labelled. Data of 18, 960 patients investigated for contact allergy between 1978 and 2008 were retrieved from our database, including information on the nature of the topical pharmaceutical products used, the results of patch tests, and the sensitization sources.

Frequency of and trends in fragrance allergy over a 15-year period.

Background: The widespread use of fragrance-containing products is probably the most important reason for its high impact in allergic contact dermatitis.

Objectives: To describe the frequency of contact allergy to fragrance allergens as tested in the standard series, in relation to age, sex and lesion locations. To determine trends in frequency over the years and to study the association between positive tests observed with the different fragrance-allergy markers as well as between specific fragrance allergens and locations of the lesions.

The relation between the localization of foot dermatitis and the causative allergens in shoes: a 13-year retrospective study.

The purpose of this retrospective study was to test whether the initial pattern of clinical presentation of shoe dermatitis could indicate the causative allergen(s) and to estimate the odds on foot dermatitis in patients with a positive patch test versus those with a negative patch-test result. Between 1990 and 2002, 8543 patients were patch tested with the standard series (and additional allergens, if appropriate). Of them, 1168 (14%) had been referred because of foot dermatitis and 474 of these patients (5.

Case-control study to identify melanoma risk factors in the Belgian population: the significance of clinical examination.

Background: Although numerous studies have evaluated risk factors associated with cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), no such study has been carried out in Belgium.

Objectives: To identify individuals who are at high risk of developing malignant melanoma in Belgium, which could enhance the efficacy of screening interventions and avoid unnecessary skin inspections. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING/SUBJECTS: We prospectively included patients who were diagnosed with invasive malignant melanoma between 1998 and 2001 at the Department of Dermatology in a case-control study.

Contact allergy to imidazoles used as antimycotic agents.

The present article reviews the literature (up to 1994) on contact sensitivity to imidazoles and presents the results obtained from 15 patients observed at the Contact Allergy Unit in Leuven. The frequency as well as the cross-reaction patterns described are analyzed. Although allergic contact reactions may have been missed in the past (mainly because of problems with the correct choice of vehicle for patch testing), they seem to be relatively infrequent in view of their widespread use.

Studies in patients with corticosteroid contact allergy. Understanding cross-reactivity among different steroids.

Background And Design: Most corticosteroid-allergic patients react to several corticosteroids. Irrefutable proof for the existence of cross-reactions is provided by reactions to substances to which the patient has never been exposed. Four groups of cross-reactions have been proposed, and our own observations support this.

A computer system for contact dermatitis: graphical representation of data.

An overview is given of the computer applications we have developed over the last twelve years in the field of contact dermatitis. The dissemination of exposure lists to sensitised individuals and the development of a knowledge-based system are mentioned only briefly. Priority here is given to the explanation of the graphical representation of the patient data collected since 1978 on 12,000 patients referred to three contact dermatitis units.

Computer assisted monitoring of contact dermatitis patients.

All contact dermatitis patients are told to avoid their specific allergens. As regards topical pharmaceutical agents, however, it is almost impossible for these patients to identify the products that contain their allergens. In order to provide reliable information for these patients, we have designed a computer assisted data system.