RESULTS
hand dermatitis, Dermatitis, dermatitis, rubber additives
DERMATITIS, RECRUITMENT, HAND DERMATITIS, MAY, SKIN CONDITION, HAND ECZEMA, DERMATITIS
From January 2016 to May 2021, 102 patients with hand dermatitis of possible occupational origin agreed to participate in the study, underwent a clinical examination, and attended personalized skin protection seminars; 54 of them were randomly assigned to a group that received CC and 48 used OCs without ceramides (T0). The layout of this study is shown in Lay-out of the study.Seven patients in the control group were switched to the ceramide group. After 3 months, 27 and 10 patients underwent the second follow-up examination, respectively, whereas 20 and 13 patients dropped out, respectively. Dropout subjects responded to a phone interview where information on skin conditions was collected; 50% declared an improvement of the dermatitis, and for that reason, they refused the follow-up examinations.The characteristics of subjects at recruitment are reported in Characteristics of the Population Studied at Baseline (




Patch tests were performed in 60.4% and 68.5% in OC and CC groups, respectively. Patch test resulted positive in the 55.2% and 75.7% in OC and CC groups. Nickel (n = 17), rubber additives (n = 12), and cobalt (n = 9) were the more prevalent haptens.TEWL measured in the hands and forearms was significantly higher in the CC group, whereas no differences were observed in the HECSI score, irritant scores at work, or out of work. Improvement in dermatitis at the first follow-up was found in 40% and 52.5% of OC and CC patients, respectively, and at the second follow-up in 50% and 63% of OC and CC patients, respectively.To better analyze the HECSI results, we reported the scores at T0 and T1 in the 2 groups (HECSI score trend from T0 to T1 in subjects treated with CC and OCs. HECSI, hand eczema severity index; CC, ceramide cream; OCs, other creams.TEWL measurement at hand and forearm at T0 and T2 in subjects treated with CC and OCs. CC, ceramide cream; OCs, other creams; TEWL, trans epidermal water loss.We analyzed the percentages of subjects that during the first follow-up obtained a better, same, and worst HECSI score and TEWL at the forearm and harm, showing that subjects treated with CC presented overall better results for the 3 considered parameters (HECSI score, TEWL at hand and forearm trends (better, same, or worse) at T0 and T1 in subjects treated with CC and OCs. CC, ceramide cream; HECSI, hand eczema severity index; OCs, other creams; TEWL, trans epidermal water loss.Factors associated with an improvement in dermatitis were evaluated during the follow-up using the generalized estimation equation, and associated factors were reported as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) (Factors Associated with the Improvement of Dermatitis Evaluated Using the Generalized Estimation Equations

