Ilaria Romano

Contact sensitization in very young children

BACKGROUND Allergic contact dermatitis is an increasingly recognized clinical problem in children. OBJECTIVE The aim of our study was to evaluate contact sensitization in patients younger than 3 years of age with suspected contact dermatitis. METHODS During a 6-year period (2002-2008), 321 children underwent routine patch testing with a screening pediatric standard series of 30 allergens. RESULTS Two hundred children (62.3%; 102 girls and 98 boys aged 3-36 months [mean age 27 + 5.6 months]) developed at least one positive reaction. The most frequent reactions were to nickel sulfate (26.8%), followed by potassium dichromate (9%), cocamidopropylbetaine (7.2%), cobalt chloride (6.2%), neomycin sulfate (5%), and methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (4.4%). The prevalence of contact sensitization was similar in children with (61.3%) and without (63%) atopic dermatitis. LIMITATIONS The prevalence of contact sensitization in children younger than 3 years of age was not compared with the prevalence in older children. CONCLUSION A high prevalence of contact sensitization was found in preschool children, even younger than 3 years of age. Patch testing should be considered in this age group when persistent dermatitis does not respond to conventional treatment.

Nickel, cobalt and chromate sensitization and occupation*

Background: Exposure to nickel, cobalt and chromate are important causes of occupational contact dermatitis.

Nickel, chromium and cobalt sensitization in a patch test population in north-eastern Italy (1996-2010).

Background. Sensitization to nickel, cobalt and chromium is frequent in patch test populations. The prevalence is affected by geographical and socio‐cultural factors.

Concurrent sensitization to metals and occupation.

Background. Cosensitization to nickel, cobalt and chromium occurs in the general population and in some occupational groups.

Clinical and dermoscopic features of nevi in preschool children in Padua.

ined: in our study we examined children aged 2–6 years, whereas in the study of Aguilera et al. the age range was 1–15. With regard to the number of nevi per anatomic site, the mean number of nevi was 1.43 in the head and neck area, 1.57 in the chest, 0.98 in the upper extremities, 2.53 in the back, 0.70 in the lower extremities and 0.33 in the feet. The dominant dermoscopic pattern in our patients, defined as the pattern present in more than 40% of all nevi [3] , was reticular in 30 (37%) patients, globular in 36 (44.4%), cobblestone in 1 (1.2%), homogeneous in 2 (2.5%), starburst in 3 (3.7%), multicomponent in 2 (2.5%), globular-reticular in 3 (3.7%), reticular-homogeneous in 2 (2.5%) and globular-homogeneous in 2 (2.5%) patients. Interestingly, the reticular pattern, usually more prevalent in the older population, was more represented in our 2to 6-year-old population (37%) than in the 1to 15-year-old population studied by Aguilera et al. In conclusion, we report some clinical and dermoscopic features of melanocytic nevi in a population of 81 consecutive preschool children presented to the Dermatology Unit of the Department of Pediatrics in Padua. Our results are partially in agreement with those of Aguilera et al. indicating that a different selection of patients can determine variations in both clinical and dermoscopic patterns.

Newsletter No. 10/2010

– Angelika Stary (Austria) Sexually Transmitted Infection and Global Migration – Christopher Griffi ths (UK) Psoriasis: More Than One Disease? – Jenny Kim (USA) Acne and Acneiform Diseases (Inducer of Follicular Infl ammation) – John Voorhees (USA) Aging Skin – Jürgen Schauber (Germany) Antimicrobial Peptides: More Than Epidermal Antibiotics – Katsuto Tamai (Japan) Regeneration and Repair – Markus Frank (USA) Stem Cells in Skin Cancer – Miroslav Blumenberg (USA) Skinomics: Molecular Profi ling as a Diagnostic Tool – Seung Hun Lee (Korea) Disorders of the Epidermal Barrier – Stephan Wagner (Austria) Melanoma: Do We Need a New Classifi cation?