Dear Kate, Palmer Amanda, Nixon Rosemary
Occupational Dermatology Research and Education Centre, Skin Health Institute, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
Contact Dermatitis. 2021 Mar 3. doi: 10.1111/cod.13826.
Benzalkonium chloride (BAK) is a quaternary ammonium compound that is used widely as an antiseptic and preservative. It is a strong irritant and considered a weak sensitizer.
To analyze the temporal trend of BAK sensitization and the demographics of sensitized patients.
We conducted a single-center retrospective study of 7390 patients who were patch tested with BAK between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2019.
Of the 7390 patients who were patch tested to BAK, 108 (1.5%) had a positive reaction, with 21 reactions deemed clinically relevant (0.3% of total patch tested) and a further 5 doubtful reactions deemed clinically relevant, resulting in a total of 26 relevant reactions (0.4% of total patch tested). Common sources of exposure were ophthalmic drops (30.8%), topical antiseptic preparations (26.9%), cosmetics (15.4%), disinfectant solutions (11.5%), hand sanitizers (11.5%), and hand washes (7.7%). One fifth of patients with relevant reactions were health care workers. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of positive reactions since 2017, for reasons not totally clear.
Contact allergy (CA) and allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) in response to BAK are now increasing at our center. Awareness of this trend is important, given that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is likely to further expose people to BAK.
苯扎氯铵（BAK）是一种季铵化合物，被广泛用作防腐剂。它是一种强刺激物，被认为是一种弱致敏剂。
分析BAK致敏的时间趋势以及致敏患者的人口统计学特征。
我们对2003年1月1日至2019年12月31日期间接受BAK斑贴试验的7390例患者进行了单中心回顾性研究。
在接受BAK斑贴试验的7390例患者中，108例（1.5%）有阳性反应，其中21例反应被认为具有临床相关性（占总斑贴试验的0.3%），另有5例可疑反应被认为具有临床相关性，共计26例相关反应（占总斑贴试验的0.4%）。常见的接触来源为眼药水（30.8%）、外用抗菌制剂（26.9%）、化妆品（15.4%）、消毒溶液（11.5%）、洗手液（11.5%）和洗手用品（7.7%）。有相关反应的患者中有五分之一是医护人员。自2017年以来，阳性反应数量急剧增加，原因尚不完全清楚。
目前在我们中心，对BAK的接触性过敏（CA）和过敏性接触性皮炎（ACD）正在增加。鉴于2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行可能会使人们更多地接触BAK，了解这一趋势很重要。
