Background and Aim. Contact dermatitis (CD) is the most prevalent occupational skin disease with a significant impact on quality of life. Patch testing is used for the identification of responsible allergens which may improve protective and preventive measures in the workplace. Herein, we aim to identify the demographic characteristics and occupation of patients with early diagnosis of occupational CD and compare patch test results. Materials and Methods. The study included 330 patients referred to our clinic between April 2009 and April 2011 and who were patch-tested with 28-allergen European Standard Test. Results. 126 (38%) patients were female and 204 (62%) were male with a mean age of 36.12 (±13.13) years. Positive allergic reactions were observed in 182 (55%) patients. Nickel sulphate (41/126) and potassium dichromate (39/204) were significantly the most common allergens in women and men, respectively (P < 0.005). Additionally, the most common occupation in women was household activities (83/126) and in men was manufacturing (80/204). Conclusion. The allergens to which people become sensitized differ according to their working environment and occupation. Classification of occupations is important for identification of sensitization risks and monitoring of changes in allergen distribution of different occupations.

Trichostasis spinulosa (TS) is a common but rarely diagnosed disease. For diagnosis, it's sufficient to see a bundle of vellus hair located in a keratinous sheath microscopically. In order to obtain these vellus hair settled in comedone-like openings, Standard skin surface biopsy (SSSB), a non-invasive method was chosen. It's aimed to remind the differential diagnosis of TS in treatment-resistant open comedone-like lesions and discuss the SSSB method in diagnosis. A 25-year-old female patient was admitted with a complaint of the black spots located on bilateral cheeks and nose for 12 years. In SSSB, multiple vellus hair bundles in funnel-shaped structures were observed under the microscope, and a diagnosis of ‘TS’ was made. After six weeks of treatment with tretinoin 0.025% and 4% erythromycin jel topically, the appearance of black macules was significantly reduced. Treatment had to be terminated due to her pregnancy, and the lesions recurred within 1 month. It's believed that TS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of treatment-resistant open comedone-like lesions, and SSSB might be an inexpensive and effective alternative method for the diagnosis of TS.

Background and Design: Occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) is responsible for 80-90% of the occupational dermatoses. The aim of this work was to evaluate the clinical features of patients with OCD admitted to our hospital. Materials and Methods: The records of patients, who were admitted to our hospital with OCD between December 2009 and January 2013, were evaluated retrospectively. One hundred fifty-nine patients, who were diagnosed with OCD according to the Mathias criteria, were included in the study. Age, sex, location of the lesions, atopic status, glove use, occupational exposure time and total IgE levels of the patients were assessed. Patients with positive allergic reaction with "European Standard Series Skin Patch Test" were identified as allergic OCD and patients with negative test results as "irritant OCD". The clinical features and patch results of patients are evaluated. Results: One hundred fifty-nine patients with a mean age of 39±7.9 years consisted of 151 men and 8 women. The hands were the most common site of OCD; the palms were the most common affected areas of hand eczema. Eighty-one patients (50.1%) were identified to have allergic OCD and 78 (49.9%) as irritant OCD. Irritant OCD was most commonly seen in dental technicians, whereas allergic OCD was most commonly seen in tailors. The top 3 most frequent allergens were potassium dichromate (15.1%), nickel sulfate (9.11%) and cobalt chloride (10.7%). Conclusion: In our country, there has been no comprehensive study presenting the clinical and descriptive characteristics of OCD. For preventing OCD and reducing sick leave we need to have data that belong to our country. Consequently, multicenter studies should be performed for establishing our own database on OCD.

No abstract

Mesleksel hastalıklar, bir mesleğin uygulanması sırasında kimyasal, mekanik, fiziksel ve biyolojik faktörlerin etkisi ile meydana gelen hastalıklardır. Endüstriyel toplumlarda tüm meslek hastalıklarının %30'unu mesleksel deri hastalıkları oluşturur. Sık tekrar etmeleri, iş gücü kayıpları ve iş değişikliklerine neden olmaları yüzünden önemli bir halk sağlığı sorunu oluşturmaktadırlar. Mesleksel kontakt dermatitler tüm mesleki deri hastalıklarının %90-95'ini oluşturur. Mesleksel kontakt dermatitlerin %70-80'ninden irritan kontakt dermatitler, %20-25'inden alerjik kontakt dermatitler sorumludur [1,2]. Metaller en yaygın kontakt allerjenlerdir. Altın, krom, kobalt ve civanın organik tuzlarına karşı reaksiyonlar oldukça sık görülmesine rağmen pek çok seride nikel, metal allerjilerinin en yaygın nedenidir ÖZET Endüstriyel toplumlarda tüm meslek hastalıklarının %30'unu mesleki deri hastalıkları oluşturur. Epidemiyolojik verilere göre kontakt dermatitler mesleki deri hastalıklarının önemli bir kısmını oluşturmaktadır. Metaller en yaygın kontakt allerjenler olup, nikel metal allerjilerinin en yaygın nedenidir. Kadınlarda nikel duyarlılığı başta küpe olmak üzere takı ve benzeri aksesuarlarla ilişkilidir. Küpe başta olmak üzere her türlü takı, giysilerin ve çamaşırların metal kopçaları, düğme ve tokaları, madeni paralar, anahtarlar, gözlük çerçeveleri ve daha çok çeşitli ürün nikel içermektedir. Erkeklerde nikel duyarlılığı çoğunlukla mesleksel olarak kazanılmaktadır. Yapılan çalışmalar göstermiştir ki; endüstride pek çok meslek grubunda nikele maruziyet söz konusudur. Bunlar arasında alkali pil yapımı, çinko ve pirinç karartma, elektrolizle kaplama, lehimleme, elektrik kablo işleri sayılabilir. Nikel dermatiti kuaförlerde, müzisyenlerde ve terzilerde de ortaya çıkabilmektedir. Nikel dermatitinin besinlerle alınan nikel ile de ilişkili olduğu ortaya konulmuştur. Sigara içenlerde içmeyenlere oranla daha yüksek nikel duyarlılığı tespit edilmiştir. Nikel duyarlılığının tespitinde esas olarak yama testleri kullanılmaktadır. Nikel dermatitinden korunmada nikel maruziyetinin azaltılması esastır. Bu yazıda, nikel dermatitinin daha sık görüldüğü meslek grupları ile tanı ve korunmada dikkat edilmesi gereken noktalar literatür bilgileri ışığında gözden geçirilmektedir. Anahtar kelimeler: Meslek hastalıkları, Nikel, Dermatit ABSTRACTThirty percent of all occupational diseases in industrial societies are occupational skin diseases. An important part of occupational skin diseases is contact dermatitis with respect to epidemiological data. Metals are the most common contact allergens and nickel is the most common among them. Nickel sensitivity in women is particularly related to jewelry, including earrings and other accessories. Especially all kinds of earrings, apparels and their metal clasps, buttons and buckles, coins, keys, frames of glasses and many more different kinds of products contain nickel. Nickel sensitivity in men is primarily occupational. Previous studies have shown that occupational exposure to nickel is seen in many in...