title: Relevance of skin tests with drugs in investigating cutaneous adverse drug reactions.
abstract: Skin tests with drugs can be of value in investigating patients who have developed cutaneous adverse drug reactions (CADR), but their specificity and relevance remain to be determined. A false-positive result on skin testing can happen if it is not compared to results in control subjects. When performing intradermal tests (IDT), we have determined the lowest concentrations that induce false-positive results for many drugs, including betalactam antibiotics, cephalosporins, other antibiotics or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Some drugs in their commercialized form contain sodium lauryl sulfate and can induce irritation when patch tested as such. When patch tested with colchicine at 10% in pet. or with a Cytotec pill (containing misoprostol) at 30% in pet., respectively, 80% of the 29 and 9 of the 10 negative controls developed false-positive results. Lastly, positive results of patch tests with drugs can be related to contact allergy to one of the components of the commercialized form of the drug, without any relevance to the investigation of a CADR, as observed in 2 cases with iodine or avocado oil.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Fournier Hospital, 36 Quai de la Bataille, 54000 Nancy, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barbaud
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Trechot
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reichert-Penetrat
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Commun
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Schmutz
mesh_terms: D017453:Dermatitis, Irritant / Q000209:etiology; D003875:Drug Eruptions / Q000209:etiology*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005079:Excipients / Q000009:adverse effects; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006801:Humans; D007428:Intradermal Tests / Q000592:standards; D010328:Patch Tests / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D005079:Excipients