Retrospective survey of patch testing at department of dermatology and venerology, zagreb university hospital center in zagreb, croatia.

Epicutaneous (patch) test is a standard test to confirm contact allergy. During a six-year period (1998-2003), contact allergic dermatitis was diagnosed in 4132 (65%) of 6341 patients using standard patch test with a Croatian series of allergens according to the International Contact Dermatitis Research Group (ICDRG). The most common clinical diagnoses related to contact allergy (male; female) were contact allergic dermatitis (65.4%; 72.2%); atopic dermatitis (15.9%; 11.7%); contact irritant dermatitis (7.0%; 6.6%) and nummular eczematoid dermatitis (4.2%; 2.4%). According to occupation, positive patch test reaction was most commonly observed in workers, whereas 65% of patients showed positive reactions to one or more substances. There was an increased frequency of positive patch test reactions to potassium dichromate, nickel sulfate, thimerosal and neomycine sulfate, along with a significant decrease in the frequency of positive patch test reactions to cobalt chloride, carba mix, wood tars, detergents, parabens mixture, urushiol and rubber mixture. We strongly recommend keeping up-to-date with the epidemiology of contact allergy in Croatia.