Foot eczema and footwear dermatitis: Role of patch test using Indian standard series and footwear series

Abstract

Context: Foot eczema is a common complaint encountered in dermatology outpatient department. Footwear dermatitis forms an important exogenous cause of foot eczema. Patch testing helps in identifying possible allergens causing footwear dermatitis. Aims: This study aims to study the clinical profile of foot eczema and to evaluate patch test results in these patients. Subjects and Method: Fifty patients with foot eczema were included in the study and underwent patch testing with Indian standard series and footwear series. Patch test results were read as per International Contact Dermatitis Research Group guidelines. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive data are given as mean standard deviation. Differences between patients were assessed by unpaired “t”-test and frequency of parameters by the Chi-square test. Linear regression analysis was used, and correlation coefficients were calculated by Pearson's method. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Foot eczema was most common in the 18–29 years of age group (48%), with a male:female ratio of 1.78:1. Office workers (50%), followed by students (24%) were the common occupational groups affected. Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) (60%), followed by discoid (10%) and forefoot eczema (10%) were the common morphological types. Parthenium (13.8%), diphenylguanidine (10.3%), and potassium dichromate (10.3%) were common allergens seen. Parthenium was the most common allergen identified by patch testing in our study. Conclusion: Patch testing may be used as a valuable and safe additional tool to aid the clinician's diagnosis and help in the treatment of ACD.

Keywords

• allergic contact dermatitis
• eczema
• patch test