Efficacy of corticosteroids in acute experimental irritant contact dermatitis?

Background/aims: Topical corticoids are used to treat irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) in humans. However, their clinical efficacy remains sub judice. This study was designed to assess the efficacy of low- and medium-potency corticosteroids on irritant dermatitis. Methods: We induced an acute ICD via open application of sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) on the hands of subjects. The dorsal side of hands was irritated with 10% SLS five times in one day. Once on day 1 and twice daily on days 2-5, 1% hydrocortisone, 0.1% betamethasone-17-valerate and vehicle cream (petrolatum) were applied subsequently. Visual grading, bioengineering techniques and squamometry were used to quantify skin response. Results: Corticosteroids were found ineffective in treating the surfactant-induced irritant dermatitis when compared with the vehicle and with the untreated control. Conclusion: The counterintuitive result (in a relatively realistic and robust model) should be interpreted with caution until verified with other irritants of varying physicochemical properties.