The Effect Of Desloratadine On The Positive Grade Of Patch Test Reaction

Objective: To evaluate the effect of desloratadine on the positive grade of patch testreaction.Methods: Patients known to have at least one strongly positive (++) test with anallergen were re-patch tested after14to69days, administering oral desloratadine5mg bisin die for5days before and during the test. Patch testing was performed with thepreviously recognized allergen according to the guidelines of the ICDRG. The to+++system was converted into numeric values (0,1,2,3,4) for statistic evaluation.Results: Of the58chambers (47patients), which were all strongly positive (++)during the1st patch test, the situation was unchanged in51chambers;4+reactions and2+++reactions were observed; and1chamber was negative. There was no statisticalsignificance on comparing the score of the1st assessment with those of the2nd (p=0.206).If the patch test reaction of the patient who retreated from the trial changed from stronglypositive (++) to negative, there was still no statistically significant difference between thescore of the1st assessment with those of the2nd (P=0.107).Conclusions: The positive grade of a patch test is not hampered by desloratadine. Theanti-inflammatory effects of desloratadine on patch test reaction may be limited.