The risk of occupational contact dermatitis in COVID-19 isolation ward setting

Background The preventive measures of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) transmissions require the healthcare workers (HCWs) to be more cautious. Irritants or allergens exposure from these measures might induce adverse skin reactions and lead to the development of occupational contact dermatitis (OCD). Methods Questionnaires were distributed to HCWs in COVID-19 isolation ward of Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia. The questionnaire consisted of personal and work characteristics, clinical history, skin complaints, and occupational exposures. Results Fifty-three completed questionnaires were gathered from eligible subjects. History of atopic dermatitis (AD) was found on 8 subject (15.09%). Many of the subjects had complained of dry skin (28.30%), itchy skin (26.41%), and redness of skin (20.75%) on the hands in the last 12 months. As many as 50.94% of the subjects washed their hands with water and soap at least 6-10 times a day and 49.06% used hand sanitizers 6-10 times a day. The use of PPE were mostly 4 hours a day or less. There were associations between history of AD with complaints related to hand dermatitis (p=0.004) and history of AD with incidence of OCD assessed with Mathias criteria (p=0.016). It was also found that the use of gloves for 2 or more hours a day was associated with skin complaints after gloves use (p=0.021) and the use of hand sanitizer for more than 10 times a day was associated with complaints related to hand dermatitis (p=0.041). Conclusion The repeated and prolonged exposure to irritative or allergenic substances contained in PPE and hand hygiene products is related to OCD, particularly hand dermatitis, among HCWs in COVID-19 isolation ward.