title: Correlation between clinical scoring of allergic patch test reactions and optical coherence tomography.
abstract: Noninvasive imaging techniques might be of particular diagnostic value for studying and monitoring cutaneous inflammatory conditions such as contact dermatitis. We evaluate acute allergic contact dermatitis (AACD) by means of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and correlate the clinical grading of patch test reactions with the findings obtained from OCT. Twenty positive patch test reactions (+, n = 6; ++, n = 7; +++, n = 7) are investigated using a conventional OCT scanner. In comparison to the control sites, OCT of AACD showed pronounced skin folds, thickened and/or disrupted entrance signals, and a significant increase in epidermal thickness. Moreover, clearly demarcated signal-free cavities within the epidermis and considerable reduction of dermal reflectivity are demonstrated by OCT. Notably, the latter findings strongly correlate with the clinical patch test grading. OCT may be a useful tool for visualization of micromorphological features of AACD. However, before OCT can be employed as an objective parameter in grading severity of patch test reactions, larger studies are required that correlate clinical patch test readings and OCT findings with histopathology.
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Bochum 44791 Germany. t.gambichler@klinikum-bochum.de
authors.forename: Thilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gambichler
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moussa
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sand
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sand
authors.forename: Alexei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orlikov
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Altmeyer
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017449:Dermatitis, Allergic Contact / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010328:Patch Tests / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*