Contact allergy to gold sodium thiosulfate. A comparative study.

During 1995, we added gold sodium thiosulfate and potassium dicyanoaurate to the patch test standard series. Our purpose was to compare the reactivity of the gold salts, to determine the frequency of contact allergy to gold in our country, to compare our results with those of the Malmö group and, finally to try to clarify the clinical relevance 2853 patients were routinely tested and 168 patients answered a questionnaire similar to that used by the Malmö group. Contact allergy to gold was found in 23 patients, all women: 22 to gold sodium thiosulfate (0.78%), only 1 to potassium dicyanoaurate and 2 to both salts. All reactors had their ears pierced and were exposed to gold jewelery (mainly earrings). Simultaneous allergies to nickel and cobalt were statistically significant in patients with positive patch tests to gold sodium thiosulfate. Atopy was no more common among these patients.