Abstract
A case of allergic bronchial asthma and contact dermatitis due to metallic cobalt is reported. This case report is the first in Japan.
A 38 year-old man was employed as a powder handler in a factory manufacturing hard metal tools. Two weeks after starting this work, he developed persistent contact dermatitis of the neck, arms and face. And two years and two months after its onset he developed bronchial asthma. The asthma attack appeared at night, and cleared up by halting work and drug treatment, and recurred on returning to work. His serum IgE-RIST during attack was high and the patch test was positive for cobalt. This case was diagnosed as occupational allergic bronchial asthma due to metallic cobalt. Non-specific irritative bronchial asthma due to hard metal dusts in the literature is discussed.
