Fast Five Quiz: Dermatitis

Rietschel and Fowler proposed the following as primary diagnostic criteria for irritant contact dermatitis:

• Macular erythema, hyperkeratosis, or fissuring predominating over vesiculation

• Glazed, parched, or scalded appearance of the epidermis

• Healing process beginning promptly on withdrawal of exposure to the offending agent

• Negative results on patch testing that includes all possible allergens

Minor objective criteria for irritant contact dermatitis include the following:

• Sharp circumscription of the dermatitis

• Evidence of gravitational influence, such as a dripping effect

• Lower tendency for the dermatitis to spread than in cases of allergic contact dermatitis

• Morphologic changes suggesting small differences in concentration or contact time producing large differences in skin damage

Read more about the presentation of irritant contact dermatitis.

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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: William James. Fast Five Quiz: Dermatitis - Medscape - Nov 04, 2020.