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Chronic Actinic Dermatitis Is Not a Viable Concept
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
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The term "chronic actinic dermatitis" (CAD), coined by Hawk and Magnus,1 is used synonymously with the term "photosensitivity dermatitis/actinic reticuloid syndrome" coined by Frain-Bell and colleagues.2 Chronic actinic dermatitis encompasses 4 diagnoses: actinic reticuloid, photosensitive eczema, photosensitivity dermatitis, and more recently, persistent light reactivity,3 originally described as distinct disorders but generally accepted as variants of CAD. Burry4 questions the validity of the term CAD and the concept of a unifying diagnosis. In particular, he suggests that diagnostic errors will be made and diagnoses of airborne contact dermatitis (particularly Compositae dermatitis), photoallergic contact dermatitis, and allergy to photosensitizing medication will be missed and managed inappropriately.4 This is not the case.
Phototesting, generally with an irradiation monochromator, is essential for a confident diagnosis of CAD, and patch and photopatch tests are essential ancillary investigations.3, 5 This enables the distinction between CAD alone (abnormal monochromator light test and negative patch and photopatch test results) . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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