PHOTOALLERGIC CONTACT DERMATITIS: THE 15-YEAR EXPERIENCE OF A TERTIARY REFERENCE CENTER IN A SUNNY MEDITERRANEAN CITY

Photoallergic contact dermatitis (PACD) represents an important entity of photodermatoses while photopatch testing is the main diagnostic tool. The main goal of this study is to evaluate retrospectively the prevalence of photoallergic reactions and the offending agents in Athens during a 15-year period. The medical records of all patients with possible PACD between 1992 and 2006 were examined. All patients included in the analysis had undergone patch testing and photo-testing. Contact reactions were detected in 86 out of 207 participants (41.54%), while photocontact reactions were identified in 28/207 (13.52%) patients. The most common offending photoallergen was promethazine (25%), while chlorpromazine and oxybenzone were both detected in 12.5% of cases. PACD represents a unique proportion of photodermatoses in a sunny Mediterranean city such as Athens.