Background: Methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI) and methylisothiazolinone (MI) contact allergies are rising dramatically. Moreover, 100 ppm of MCI/MI patch test might not detect an important number of MCI/MI and MI allergies.
Objectives: This study aimed to present the prevalence of contact allergy to both preservatives in an area of Spain and to investigate if 100 ppm of MCI/MI is an adequate concentration for a proper diagnosis.
Methods: A prospective study was conducted from October 2011 to September 2013. All patients were patch tested with the Spanish baseline series (containing 100 ppm of MCI/MI) and with 200 ppm of MCI/MI and 2000 ppm of MI.
Results: A total of 490 patients were patch tested. The MCI/MI prevalence was 10% and increased from 7.8% in last term of 2011 to 14.3% in the first 9 months of 2013. The MI prevalence was 4.5% and increased from 1% to 7.7% in the same period. One hundred parts per million of MCI/MI could not diagnose 24.5% of MCI/MI allergies. All MI allergies were detected by 200 ppm of MCI/MI, whereas only 68.2% were positive to 100-ppm concentration.
Conclusions: For a correct diagnosis of MCI/MI and MI contact allergies, we advocate increasing the MCI/MI patch test concentration to 200 ppm along with a temporal inclusion of MI in the North American Contact Dermatitis Group baseline series.