ALLERGIC CONTACT DERMATITIS IN BULGARIA – COMPARISSON BETWEEN 1987 AND 2017

Abstract

In our study, we are trying to show how the data on allergic contact dermatitis has changed over the years in Bulgaria. Purpose: The socio-economic changes had an impact on the medical data since the fall of the Berlin Wall. We investigated how this changes reflected especially on contact allergy. Material/Methods: In order to achieve our goal, we compared the Bulgarian results from epicutaneous testing in 1987 and 2017. Results: Allergens to which the greatest number of patients were sensitized in 1987 in the cities of Sofia and Plovdiv were Potassium dichromate, 4-isopropylamino diphenylamine, Formaldehyde, Nickel (II) sulfate, and Parephenylenediamine (PPD). In 2017 - for the same number of patients and in the same cities, top 5 allergens were Nickel (II)sulfate hexahydrate, Cobalt(II)chloride hexahydrate, Colophonium, Potassium dichromate, Myroxylon pereirae resin. Conclusions: The most alarming are the data on how much sensitization to nickel increased in 2017 due to the continuous use of this metal. The positive reactions to potassium dichromate were more in 1987, whereas in 2017 due to the concentration adjustment for hexavalent chromium in cement, the number of cases with contact allergy to potassium dichromate was reduced. These data show that until we succeed in regulation and prevention, we cannot hope to seriously reduce contact allergy cases.

Keywords

• frequency
• contact dermatitis
• prevalence