Efficacy of Glycerol, Two Topical Steroids, and a Topical Immune Modulator Against Skin Irritation

Irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) is a frequent cause of hand eczema and occupational skin disease. One way to study ICD is to expose healthy volunteer skin to chemicals and evaluate the skin response. Because different chemicals act differently on the skin, the use of different skin irritants may provide more information than relying on one irritant only. In this study the two commonly used irritants sodium lauryl sulphate and nonanoic acid are exposed to the skin in a cumulative wash test. Treatment of ICD has classically involved topical steroids and/or emollients. However, the outcome is variable with some patients being very refractory to this regimen. This study was designed to investigate the relative efficacy of the steroids triamcinolone acetonide and clobetasol, the topical immune modulator tacrolimus, a 20% Glycerol ointment compared with an inert ointment vehicle on experimentally induced irritated skin.