Eczema of the skin of the hands is a common disease, often having a chronic recurrent course with an unfavorable prognosis. In some cases, the cause of eczema can be external factors that cause skin irritation or allergic contact dermatitis, and in other cases, the disease can be endogenous. Opinions about the importance of bacterial infection for the onset and maintenance of hand skin eczema are controversial.

To determine the possible role of Staphylococcus aureus (Staphylococcus aureus) in the etiology of hand skin eczema, researchers from the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) conducted a microbiological study of the prevalence of S. aureus on the hands of patients with eczema and in people in the control group. In addition, the subtypes of Staphylococcus aureus strains and their toxin production were determined and the relationship of these factors to the severity of hand skin eczema was analyzed.

Patients with eczema of the skin of the hands (n = 50) and people of the control group (n = 50) took three times (during three different visits) smears on the skin of the hands and nasal. Isolated strains S. aureus was divided into subtypes using spa typing and, based on this, was assigned to certain clonal complexes (CC), in addition, the isolates were tested for the production of exotoxin by them. To assess the severity of eczema, a special scale was used to determine the severity of hand skin eczema (The Hand Eczema Severity Index).

S. aureus strains were isolated from the skin of the hands in 24 patients with eczema and only in 4 subjects in the control group (p less than 0.001). The association of S on the skin of the hands was noted. aureus with the severity of eczema (p less than 0.01). In patients with eczema, the presence of the same strains of Staphylococcus aureus on the skin of the hands and in the nasal passages was observed in 100% of cases and the presence of the same strains during different visits in 90% of cases. 10 different subtypes of staphylococci have been identified, but no dependence of the severity of eczema on the S subtype has been detected. aureus. Toxin producing strains were also found with equal frequency in patients with eczema and in control individuals.

Thus, it has been revealed that S. aureus is present on the skin of the hands in almost half of patients with eczema, which is also significantly associated with the severity of the disease. Therefore, the presence of staphylococcus aureus on the skin should be considered as an important cofactor contributing to the persistence of hand skin eczema.