The causes of allergic contact dermatitis can be effectively revealed using patch testing in children.

Undertaking a retrospective review of the Mayo patch database on children aged 18 years or younger, the study's authors found that 136 children with allergic contact dermatitis had been patch tested, DGDispatch reports.

Of these, 61 per cent of the patients tested positive to one or more allergens using the patch testing with the most common allergens including nickel, gold, cobalt and thimerosol.

"Patch testing in general has a high diagnostic value when a patient presents with atopic dermatitis, and we see that it can be very useful in the paediatric population," lead investigator Lonnie Hammonds explained.

"However, many physicians are hesitant to use the patch test with children.

"We encourage physicians to expand their use of patch testing in the paediatric population," she added.

Researchers reported the findings at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) on February 3rd.

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