Epidemiological Analysis of Allergic Contact Dermatitis Cases with Positive Patch-test Results Emerging After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a common inflammatory skin disorder caused by extrinsic allergens that reach the skin through direct contact, airborne exposure, or systemic routes.Patch-testing is currently accepted as the gold-standard diagnostic method for ACD.Among the allergens included in the European standard patch-test series is propolis, and it has been suggested that the increased use of personal hygiene products and dietary supplements during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may have led to greater sensitization to this substance.This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of propolis allergy after the COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate possible associations between allergens and demographic or clinical variables. Method:In this retrospective study, 152 patients who developed symptoms of ACD after the COVID-19 pandemic underwent the European standard patch-test series with 30 different allergens.Of these, 50 patients with at least one positive patch-test result were included in the further analysis.Data were recorded and evaluated according to age, sex, allergen frequency, occupation, hobbies, need for biopsy, and disease duration. Results:In this study, one of the most striking observations was the notably high rate of propolis patch-test positivity, even surpassing that of nickel.Another key finding was the consistent visibility of propolis reactions: they appeared as early as the initial reading and persisted through day 7, underscoring the allergen's sustained reactivity.Ama: Alerjik kontakt dermatit (AKD), ounlukla deriye dorudan temas, havadan veya sistemik maruziyetler yoluyla ekstrensek alerjenlerin neden olduu yaygn bir enflamatuvar deri hastaldr.Yama testi, AKD tansnda gnmzde kabul edilen altn standart yntemdir.Avrupa standart yama testi serisinde bulunan alerjenlerden biri propolistir ve yeni koronavirs hastal-2019 (COVID-19) pandemisi dneminde kiisel hijyen rnleri veya besin takviyelerinin kullanmndaki art nedeniyle propolise kar artan bir duyarllk olabilecei dnlmektedir.Bu alma, COVID-19 pandemisi sonrasnda propolis alerjisinin grlme skln ve alerjenler ile demografik/klinik deikenler arasndaki olas