P31 Patch test reactions in the elderly

The incidence of patch test reactivity depends on prior exposure, with few studies evaluating elderly Subjects: The aim of our study was to address this issue. We reviewed results of elderly patients, (defined iÝ 65 years) who attended for patch testing over a five-year period from January 1999 to December 2003. Patients were patch tested to an extended European standard series and additional series depending on clinical presentation. Results showed 322 (16.4%) of 1968 patients patch tested were elderly, 196 women (60%) and 126 men (40%). Balsam of Peru (Myroxylon pereirae) was the commonest sensitizer among men 21/126 (16.7%), followed by fragrance mix in 10 subjects (7.9%) neomycin in 7 (5.6%) and carba mix in 7 (5.6%). Nickel was the most frequently occurring contact allergen in women, 32/126 (16.3%), followed by fragrance mix in 19 (9.7%), thiuram mix in 19 (9.7%), carba mix in 15 (7.7%) and Balsam of Peru in 14 (7.1%). Investigation of ACD in a multicentre study of all age groups in the UK reported nickel as the commonest allergen at 18.6%, followed by fragrance mix (10.7%) and Balsam of Peru (6.7%). Our study shows nickel and fragrance mix reactions to be lower in this elderly population at 11.5% and 9% respectively, Balsam of Peru positivity being higher at 10.9%. This study suggests that patch testing in elderly patients remains a worthwhile investigation yielding significant positive results.