title: Isopropyl myristate recommended for aimed rather than routine patch testing.
abstract: Isopropyl myristate (IPM) is considered a very weak sensitizer. Patch test results with 20% IPM in petrolatum (pet.) in 8117 patients and 10% IPM in pet. in 4554 patients between January 1992 and December 2001 by the IVDK are presented. While irritant and questionable reactions were frequently observed, especially with 20% test concentration and 2-day patch test exposure, respectively, and a decrescendo pattern was common, morphologically positive reactions at day 3 were seen in only 16 patients, i.e. altogether 0.13%. In line with previous clinical and experimental evidence, our results indicate that IPM is an extremely weak sensitizer or possibly, in our material, not a sensitizer at all. IPM should thus not be tested routinely, but only in the case of suspected exposure as a possible source of allergic contact dermatitis, e.g. to cosmetics and perfumes, to avoid an unacceptable reduction of the positive predictive value of the test.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (IMBE), University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Wakdstrasse 6, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany. wolfgang.uter@rzmail.uni-erlangen.de
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Uter
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schnuch
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Geier
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lessmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000485:Allergens; D017449:Dermatitis, Allergic Contact / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009226:Myristates; D010328:Patch Tests / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D009226:Myristates; C008205:isopropyl myristate