Wearing Occlusive Gloves Increases the Density of Staphylococcus Aureus in Patients With Hand Eczema Acta Dermato-Venereologica

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• Patients with hand eczema (HE) wore an occlusive glove on one hand for 4 hours, with a 30-minute break after 2 hours. Bacterial swabs were collected before and after glove exposure. Out of 30 patients, 19 were colonized with Staphylococcus aureus and these patients had more severe HE. After occlusion, the S. aureus colony-forming units increased on lesional skin by a factor of 1.72. In contrast, there was no increase in S. aureus colonization after occlusion for non-lesional skin.

• The use of occlusive gloves increases S. aureus colonization in patients with HE and this may influence disease severity and course.

–  Katherine M. Stiff, MD

Abstract

Hand eczema is frequently colonized with Staphylococcus aureus. Some patients with hand eczema wear occlusive gloves regularly; however, the effect of this on the density of S. aureus is unexplored. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of occlusive gloves on the density of S. aureus sampled from the hands of patients with hand eczema. In an experimental set-up, patients with moderate-to-severe hand eczema wore an occlusive glove on one hand for 4 h with a 30-min break. Bacterial swabs were collected from the most severe eczema lesion on the hand before and immediately after glove exposure. S. aureus colony-forming units were counted and log-transformations used for comparison of before- and after-values. Among 30 patients, 19 (63%) were colonized with S. aureus. After glove occlusion S. aureus colony-forming units increased by a factor of 1.72 (p < 0.01). In conclusion, the density of sampled S. aureus on eczematous skin after prolonged wearing of occlusive gloves is greatly increased.

Acta Dermato-Venereologica

Wearing Occlusive Gloves Increases the Density of Staphylococcus Aureus in Patients with Hand Eczema

Acta Derm Venereol 2021 Aug 16;[EPub Ahead of Print], LB Nørreslet, SM Edslev, EM Flachs, NE Ebbehøj, PS Andersen, T Agner