Abstract
A 69-year-old woman visited our division with severe eczema of both feet after the topical application of anti-fungal ointment. Ten years previously, she had also experienced contact dermatitis due to another anti-fungal topical medicament containing diethyl sebacate. We performed 48-hour closed patch testing for the clotrimazole ointment (as is) and each of its ingredients. The results revealed that both the product (as is) and diethyl sebacate (5% pet) elicited positive reactions ++ (D2) and ++ (D3). Therefore, we diagnosed this case as contact dermatitis caused by diethyl sebacate. Although ingredient-based patch testing had not been performed ten years previously, we considered that the cause at that time had also been diethyl sebacate and that the present episode could have been avoided if ingredient-based patch testing had been performed.Skin Research, 13: 269-272, 2014
