The following is a summary of “Immediate patch test reaction to fragrance in patients with allergic contact dermatitis to fragrance: A prospective study,” published in the November 2022 issue of Dermatology by Amornruk, et al.
One of the frequent reasons for an immediate contact reaction is fragrance. Prioritization of allergy screening was made possible by understanding the frequency of a response in a particular group. For this study, researchers sought to determine how frequently individuals with fragrance-allergic contact dermatitis experienced an instant patch test response to scent.
About 291 individuals were included in the prospective trial, and they received the usual patch testing for allergic contact dermatitis. Those who experienced good reactions were invited to participate in further patch tests to gauge their immediate and delayed responses to 28 other scent ingredients.
The most often found compounds in positive instant responses and typical (delayed) patch test reactions were cinnamic aldehyde and cinnamic alcohol. Benzyl alcohol, sorbic acid, and coumarin immediate patch responses were more commonly noted than typical patch test reactions. It took time to establish a statistical correlation between patient characteristics and fragrance-positive patch test reactions because of the limited sample size of patients who consented to additional patch testing investigation.
The most prevalent fragrance allergens in the group that caused both immediate and delayed responses were cinnamic aldehyde and cinnamic alcohol. However, immediate patch testing typically showed sensitivities to benzyl alcohol, sorbic acid, and coumarin.