Allergic contact dermatitis from povidone‐iodine: a re‐evaluation study

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Abstract
500 consecutive patients were patch tested with a 10% povidone‐iodine (PVP‐I) solution, diluted 10 times in water. Readings were made at 2 and 4 days. 14 of the 500 (2.8%) showed a positive test to PVP‐I. The 14 positive patients to PVP‐I were subjected to a repeated open application test (ROAT) with a PVP‐I solution, as is; 2 of the 14 were recorded as positive. It was concluded that only 2 of the 500 patients had true allergic contact dermatitis from PVP‐I (0.4%). This study emphasizes the need for more complete investigation, when testing with some allergens, when they share both irritant and allergenic properties, such as PVP‐I. The approach is important to rule out false‐positive patch test reactions and to assess true clinical relevance.