Skin lesions associated with personal protective equipment in medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aim. Analysis of the incidence of personal protective equipment (PPE)-associated dermatoses among medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and Methods. Screening of the papers indexed by PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, eLibrary, and UpToDate databases, written in English and published from January 1, 2020 to October, 2021. The search keywords were: "medical workers", "skin", "dermatoses", "professional", and "personal protective equipment" in combination with "COVID-19" and "SARS-CoV-2".Results. Occupational contact dermatitis is responsible for 20% of all cases of contact dermatitis which accounts for 90% of all skin disease cases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, from 42.8% to 97.0% of medical workers reported about skin lesions provoked by prolonged wearing of PPE in combination with regular disinfection. About 61.7% of them noted the deterioration of a pre-existing skin disease, and 90.5% reported the appearance of new skin lesion symptoms associated with the PPE usage. The most common symptoms of skin lesions among medical workers were dryness, itching, burning, soreness, and skin rash. Irritant and allergic contact dermatitis, acne, rosacea, and seborrheic dermatitis were the most prevalent skin disorders among the interviewed medical workers. Risk factors for the development of PPE-associated dermatoses were the type and material of PPE, the duration of PPE wearing, and past medical history of skin diseases. Due to the increased incidence of PPE-associated dermatoses among the medical staff, some countries have developed recommendations on the prevention and treatment of undesirable PPE-associated skin reactions in medical professionals. Current research are focused on developing special tools and devices that would serve as a protective barrier between the skin and PPE, ameliorating the damaging effect of the latter.Conclusion. PPE-associated dermatoses are currently widespread among the medical workers, highlighting the need in novel materials for PPE manufacturing to minimise the risk of developing PPE-associated skin lesions.

Occupational Chromium Allergy and Contact Dermatitis: 10 Years Evolution

Introduction: Chromium has been responsible for occupational skin disease, both irritant and/or allergic contact dermatitis. In order to minimize this problem, regulatory measures limiting its use have been implemented. The impact of these regulations should be monitored over time. Material and Methods: A retrospective study from 2009 to 2018 was carried out in the Department of Dermatology to assess the temporal trend of chromium sensitization evaluated by patch testing with potassium dichromate 0.5% pet, particularly considering age, sex and its relationship with occupational activity. Results: 3277 individuals were studied, 2369 females (72.29%) and 908 males (27.71%). Of those 621 (18.95%) fulfilled criteria for occupational contact dermatitis. Chromium allergy was found in 118 (3.60%) patients, 64 females (54.4%) and 54 males (45.76%). We found that male patients were significantly more frequent (45.76% vs 27.03%; p<0.001), as well as occupational dermatitis (31.35% vs 18.47%; p<0.001), hand dermatitis (53.54% vs 23.52%; p<0.001) and age above 40 years (70.34% vs 56.76%; p=0.003). Discussion/Conclusion: The results show a high prevalence (3.60%) of chromium positive patch tests. In our study, there has not been a significant decrease in sensitization to chromium over the years. Interestingly cases classically related to this allergy (cement in the building industry) are no longer the main cause of the problem. We found other sources such as leather as a main cause of allergic sensitization, suggesting a change of the panorama.

Contact Dermatitis Knowledge Level in Batik Workers of Desa Batik, Tanjung Bumi, Bangkalan, Madura

Background: Batik has been declared as a humanitarian heritage for oral and non-cultural culture. The increasing demand for batik may have a negative impact as the industry utilizes chemical agents. Hazardous chemical exposure to the skin in the batik industry may result in a high risk of occupational contact dermatitis. This study was conducted to find out the social determinants of health. Purpose: This study aims to assess the level of knowledge of the batik workers before and after health education about occupational contact dermatitis. Methods: This was an observational interview study, and the data were collected using questionnaires. This study involved 30 batik workers. We assessed the level of knowledge before and after the health education about occupational contact dermatitis. Result: There were 4 (13.3%) male participants and 26 (86.7%) female participants. The mean score of the pre-test was 66.98±10.10, and the post-test was 77.77±13.53 (p<0.05). Conclusion: The result showed a significant difference between batik workers' knowledge before and after health education about contact dermatitis.