Staphylococcus aureus colonization and chronic hand eczema: a multicenter clinical trial

Chronic hand eczema is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease that influences public health. Staphylococcus aureus colonization plays important roles in chronic hand eczema morbidity and progression, which also correlated to chronicity and severity of the disease. In this multicenter clinical trial, we aim to investigate the relationship between S. aureus colonization and chronic hand eczema. Eighty patient volunteers diagnosed with chronic hand eczema in 4 hospitals from 4 cities participated in this study. Staphylococcus aureus colonization was determined using Polymerase Chain Reaction and fluorescent labeling probe to rapidly detect the endemic thermostable nuclease gene nuc of S. aureus in clinical samples. All patients were treated with Halometasone Triclosan Cream for 2 weeks. The changes of clinical symptom scores were observed during the follow-up time. We found that the severity of chronic hand eczema was related to S. aureus colonization. Chronic hand eczema would remain severer than others if S. aureus colonization was not eliminated. Eliminating S. aureus colonization could provide good effectiveness in treatment of chronic hand eczema. Therefore, we make a proposal that detection and treatment of S. aureus should be considered in the clinical treatment of chronic hand eczema.