Contact dermatitis due to use of Octenisept® in wound care

BACKGROUND: Octenisept, containing 0.1 % octenidine/2 % phenoxyethanol, is a widely used antiseptic in modern wound management. It is considered to have a very low allergenic potential. Thus far, neither allergic nor irritant contact dermatitis to the product has been described. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Chronic wounds in 251 patients were treated with Octenisept; 11 developed signs of contact dermatitis. The symptoms improved after discontinuation of the antiseptic. Eight of these patients were patch tested to the antiseptic and its components. RESULTS: The eight patients all showed a positive reaction to the product. In at least three cases a reaction to the components cocamidopropyl betaine and phenoxyethanol was found, but not to octenidine dihydrochloride. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort, more than three percent of the treated patients developed a contact dermatitis to the antiseptic. However, the differentiation between allergic and irritant contact dermatitis towards the ingredients of the antiseptic remains problematic.