title: Course of skin symptoms and quality of life in children referred for patch testing--a long-term follow-up study.
abstract: Children are patch tested in the same manner as adults, but little has been done to establish whether positive or negative findings influence the course of skin symptoms. To uncover the course of skin symptoms and the impact of persistent eczema on life quality in paediatric patients referred for patch testing, a retrospective questionnaire was sent to children and adolescents referred for patch testing during a 9-year period. Persistent eczema at follow-up was strongly associated to atopic dermatitis, but was not explained by gender, age, contact allergy or time span from patch testing to follow-up. Among patients without atopic dermatitis, 23.5% reported to suffer from chronic eczema. Persistent eczema increased the risk of severe impairment of life quality. Our findings indicate a significant risk of childhood eczema becoming chronic and affecting life quality considerably. Patch testing did not affect the course of eczema, highlighting the difficulties of avoidance behaviour.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. anbsim@rm.dk.
authors.forename: Anne B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Simonsen
authors.forename: Mette
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sommerlund
authors.forename: Mette
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deleuran
authors.forename: Charlotte G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Mortz
authors.forename: Jeanne D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Johansen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017449:Dermatitis, Allergic Contact / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D004485:Eczema / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010328:Patch Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors