Metal allergen of the 21st century--a review on exposure, epidemiology and clinical manifestations of palladium allergy

Consumers are mainly exposed to palladium from jewellery and dental restorations. Palladium contact allergy is nearly always seen together with nickel allergy, as palladium and nickel tend to cross-react. We aimed to analyse the available palladium patch test data and case reports to determine whether the prevalence of palladium mono-sensitization has increased. Based on available patch test data from the period 1986-2008, a total of 10 778 patients were patch tested with palladium chloride. The median prevalence of palladium allergy was 7.8% (range