Thimerosal – Is it really irrelevant?

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Contact Dermatitis

Volume 53 Page 324 - December 2005

doi:10.1111/j.0105-1873.2005.00591.x

Volume 53 Issue 6

Thimerosal – Is it really irrelevant?

Dan Slodownik1 and Arieh Ingber1*

Recently, several investigators claimed that thimerosal is one of

the most irrelevant allergens existing in screening for contact

dermatitis. 508 patients who were suspected to have allergic contact

dermatitis were patch tested at our clinic. They completed a

questionnaire including medical, demographic and occupational

details. We used the standard tray of chemotechnique diagnostics

(Malmö, Sweden) and additional series, which were case relevant. The

relevance of the allergic reaction to thimerosal was scored from 1

to 6. 19 patients (3.7%) had an allergic reaction to thimerosal. 6

(31.5%) had a definite relevance and 8 (42.1%) had a probable

relevance. Only 3 patients (15.8%) had an irrelevant reaction. SPIN

value (significance–prevalence index number) was 2281. We found a

high proportion of mechanics (42.1%) among the patients who had

positive reaction to thimerosal (P < 0.0001). Although previous

reports found thimerosal highly irrelevant, our daily experience

being supported by the above data indicates that positive reactions

to thimerosal could be relevant for many patients.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.0105-

1873.2005.00591.x