Allergic contact eczema in children is frequent. If clinically suspected, a patch test should be performed. In the present study, data obtained from 116,742 patients who had undergone a patch test from 2005-2014 were analysed. The children group (range 0-12 years) included 925 patients. If at least 700 tested individuals were considered, the most frequent sensitizations in this group were nickel sulfate (8.5 %), fragrance mix I (5.5 %), and colophony (3.4 %), whereby sensitisation in adults was higher for nickel sulfate (15.5 %) and fragrance mix 1 (8.4 %), while being similar for colophony (3.7 %). In adolescents with and without a profession, nickel sulfate (11.1 and 13.6 %, respectively) and cobalt (II) chloride (3.9 and 3.4 %, respectively) were the most frequent positively tested contact allergens. Sensitisations toward fragrance mix I was low (3.9 and 3.4 %, respectively) in comparison to the adult group (8.4 %). In both children and adolescents, toluene diamine and paraphenylenediamine sensitizations were not infrequent, but it must be considered that these allergens were only tested if suspected. The data show that the sensitisation profile among children and adolescents display patterns similar to those in adults. Sensitisations in childhood and adolescence towards dyes like paraphenylendiamine may be associated with increased use of tattooing in these groups.
Keywords: Adolescents; Allergens; Children; Patch tests; Sensitization.