title: Fingerprint changes and verification failure among patients with hand dermatitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of fingerprint verification failure and to define and quantify the fingerprint changes associated with fingerprint verification failure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Referral public dermatology center.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 100 consecutive patients with clinical hand dermatitis involving the palmar distal phalanx of either thumb and 100 age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched controls. Patients with an altered thumb print due to other causes and palmar hyperhidrosis were excluded.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fingerprint verification(pass/fail) and hand eczema severity index score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-seven percent of patients failed fingerprint verification compared with 2% of controls. Fingerprint verification failure was associated with a higher hand eczema severity index score (P.001). The main fingerprint abnormalities were fingerprint dystrophy (42.0%) and abnormal white lines (79.5%). The number of abnormal white lines was significantly higher among the patients with hand dermatitis compared with controls(P=.001). Among the patients with hand dermatitis, theodds of failing fingerprint verification with fingerprint dystrophy was 4.01. The presence of broad lines and long lines was associated with a greater odds of fingerprint verification failure (odds ratio [OR], 8.04; 95% CI, 3.56-18.17 and OR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.31-4.27, respectively),while the presence of thin lines was protective of verification failure (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.23-0.89).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fingerprint verification failure is a significant problem among patients with more severe hand dermatitis. It is mainly due to fingerprint dystrophy and abnormal white lines.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Malaysian National Medical Research Register Identifier: NMRR-11-30-8226
authors.affiliation: School of Anti-aging, Aesthetics and Regenerative Medicine, UCSI University, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. chewkek@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Chew Kek
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Choong Chor
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Asmah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johar
authors.forename: Othman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Puwira
authors.forename: Baba
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roshidah
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003878:Dermatoglyphics; D004485:Eczema / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006229:Hand Dermatoses / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult