title: Face dermatitis from contaminants on a mask for anaesthesia.
abstract: Allergic and irritant contact reactions to face masks for anaesthesia have rarely been reported. We present a 55-year-old female patient who developed facial allergic contact dermatitis after an operation requiring general anaesthesia. Patch tests showed positive reactions to cocospropylenediamin-guanidinium-diacetate (trivial name Dodigen 3558), a preservative used in disinfectants for medical instruments. It could be proven that residues of the causative allergen in the disinfectant adhered to the mask. This is the first report of a clinically relevant sensitization to this increasingly widely used agent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Dermatology, University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 8, A-8036 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Komericki
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Szolar-Platzer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kränke
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Aberer
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003877:Dermatitis, Contact / Q000209:etiology*; D004202:Disinfectants; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005148:Facial Dermatoses / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008397:Masks; D008875:Middle Aged; D010328:Patch Tests
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D004202:Disinfectants