• Anne Guertler, Nicholas Moellhoff, Thilo L Schenck, Christine S Hagen, Benjamin Kendziora, Riccardo E Giunta, Lars E French, and Markus Reinholz.
• Department of Dermatology and Allergy, University Hospital, LMU, Munich, Germany.
• Contact Derm. 2020 Aug 1; 83 (2): 108-114.

BackgroundAs a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, hygiene regulations have been revised and hand sanitation has been intensified.ObjectiveTo investigate the onset of hand eczema during the COVID-19 pandemic in healthcare workers (HCWs) directly involved in intensive care of COVID-19 patients and HCWs without direct contact with COVID-19 patients. Hereby, we aim at increasing awareness about occupational hand eczema and preventive measures that can be adopted.MethodA survey was distributed amongst 114 HCWs at a single surgical centre and at a COVID-19 intensive care unit of the university hospital Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Germany. Participants were questioned about the daily frequency of hand hygiene prior to and during the pandemic. Participants self-reported the onset of hand eczema and associated symptoms.ResultsOur study revealed a significant increase in hand washing, disinfection, and use of hand cream across all participants (P-value <.001), regardless of having direct contact with COVID-19 patients. A high prevalence of symptoms associated with acute hand dermatitis of 90.4% was found across all HCWs, whereas hand eczema itself was underreported (14.9%).ConclusionThe increase in hand sanitation during the COVID-19 pandemic impairs the skin of the hands across all HCWs, independent of direct intensive care of affected patients.© 2020 The Authors. Contact Dermatitis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

59 keywords...

hide…