Occupational allergic contact dermatitis in construction workers

We report the patch test results of 449 construction workers who came as patients to the Occupational Dermatology Service of the Instituto Nacional de Medicina y Seguridad del Trabajo in Madrid between 1989 and 1993. 90.8% of them were patch tested, because they had cutaneous lesions or a clinical history suggestive of occupational dermatitis. 65.5% (268) of those patch tested showed one or more reactions connected with their work. Chromate at 42.1% was the main allergen, followed by cobalt, 20.5%, nickel, 10%, and epoxy resin, 7.5%. 25.9% (106) of patients showed sensitization to rubber components, the majority at 23.7% to thiuram mix, with TETD being the main allergen.