ABSTRACT
General aspects of corticosteroids used on the skin and mucous membranes. A practical guideline for diagnosing allergic reactions to corticosteroids. A 75-year-old woman had a 20 year history of an intermittent, pruritic eruption of her arms and legs. Patch testing revealed a positive reaction to a cream she had used containing 0.1% clocortolone pivalate. In addition, she reacted to many other corticosteroids including clobetasol, triamcinolone, budesonide, hydrocortisone 17-butyrate, betamethasone 17-valerate and various commercial corticosteroid preparations. The authors concluded that this patient had contact allergies to multiple topical corticosteroid preparations including clocortolone pivalate. However, clocortolone pivalate itself was not patch tested, nor were the other constituents of the cream.
