Hand eczema: an evaluation of the frequency of atopic background and the difference in clinical pattern between patients with and without atopic dermatitis.

In a prospective study of 63 patients with long-lasting hand eczema, a diagnosis of atopic dermatitis could be established in 49%. Comparison between patients with atopic dermatitis and those without atopic dermatitis showed that the hand eczema pattern differed very little between the groups. Hyperlinearity was significantly more common in the palms of the patients with atopic dermatitis.