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

Abstract

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 (5.5% of the total group) presented a positive reaction to one or more substances related to shoes. We found that 6 standard allergens in the male group and 8 standard allergens in the female group were statistically significant for the shoe dermatitis group. The data showed a relationship between the distribution pattern of the foot lesions and most of the allergens. These results have clinical applications since the gender of the patients and the localization of the foot eruptions can, indeed, indicate what allergen is involved.

Shoe Allergens: Retrospective Analysis of Cross-Sectional Data from the North American Contact Dermatitis Group, 2001-2004

“…31 In this study of NACDG patients, only hexavalent potassium dichromate was tested and was found to be the second most frequent shoe-related allergen, accounting for 17.5% of positive reactions. European, 7,8,13,17 Mediterranean, 18 and Indian 2,21 studies of patients with foot dermatitis found potassium dichromate to be the most frequent allergen, accounting for 10.0 to 43.0% of relevant positive reactions. When the data from published studies were pooled, potassium dichromate was the most frequent individual allergen, accounting for 31.5% of reactions.…”

“…5,6 The most common allergens associated with ACD of the feet vary among studies but are typically those involved in leather or rubber processing. 1,[7][8][9][10] The warm moist environment and occlusion provided by shoes are thought to potentiate the development of ACD. 11 ACD from shoes can be debilitating, and the causative agent may not be obvious.…”

“…Freeman observed that after a mean of 2.9 years from patch testing, 87.5% of 55 patients with footwear dermatitis had improvement or resolution of their symptoms. 9 Studies evaluating the frequency of allergens associated with dermatitis of the feet have been conducted in Europe, 7,8,[12][13][14][15][16][17] the Middle East, 18,19 Asia, 2,20-23 Australia, 9 and regionally in North 1,10,24-26 and South America. 27 To our knowledge, the frequency of allergens associated specifically with a shoe source has not been investigated broadly in North America.…”

Shoe Allergic Contact Dermatitis

“…It is often included in patch testing series and is a recognized foot dermatitis allergen. 25 Nardelli et al 25 reported 11 positive patch test results to benzoyl peroxide in their 13-year retrospective study in Belgium. In addition, Vidovi( et al 26 discussed the case of workers in a factory producing shoes from polyvinyl chloride who became sensitized to dibutylphthalate, a plasticizer.…”

p‐Aminoazobenzol [MAK Value Documentation in German language, 2010]

“…chungen wurde über positive Reaktionen auf 0,25% p-Aminoazobenzol bei Patienten mit Fußdermatitis berichtet (Nardelli et al 2005;Saha et al 1993). Zwischen 1980 und 1993 reagierten von 379 Friseuren 174 positiv auf 1% p-Phenylendiamin und 121 positiv auf 0,25% p-Aminoazobenzol (Conde-Salazar et al 1995).…”