The Impact of Systemic Immunomodulating Therapies on Patch Testing Results in Children

The presentation discusses a study on the impact of systemic immunomodulating therapies on patch testing results in children, as allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) affects around 16.5% of children. ACD is diagnosed through epicutaneous patch testing, which may be affected by immunomodulating agents used to treat the condition. The presentation mentions existing guidelines for adults by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group (NACDG) that are outdated and lack information for pediatric patients. The study aimed to determine if patch testing can be reliably performed in children taking immunomodulators and if these drugs could lead to false negatives. Conducted as a retrospective cohort study using a database with 987 children, the research focused on 63 children on immunomodulating therapies during patch testing. Despite some limitations, the results showed no significant difference in positive patch test reactions between those on immunomodulators and controls. The findings suggest that immunomodulating therapies do not significantly interfere with patch test results in children; however, the study calls for larger-scale research to investigate each medication's effects and to establish concrete guidelines for patch testing children on these drugs.