Introduction:

There are few epidemiological studies on occupational dermatosis in Chile. However, these belong to one of the biggest occupational disease groups. It is for this reason necessary to generate more local information.

Materials and Methods:

A retrospective and descriptive analysis of dermatological medical consultations was carried out in Hospital Clinic Mutual de Seguridad CChC (Chilean Chamber of Construction) during 2012. Automatic search engines were used in the electronic file to select diagnostic cases. Those qualified as Professional Diseases were referred to the department of Dermatology for evaluation. The data were analyzed according to sex, age, occupation and rest days.

Results:

398 cases were identified as professional dermatosis under study; and 58 of them entered treatment for Dermatology. Of the occupational diseases, the most frequent diagnoses were irritant contact dermatitis -ICD-(61%) and allergic contact dermatitis -ACD- (13%). Of the patients overall, 59% were men and 41% women. The most affected areas were healthcare (27,5%), followed by food handling (21%) and cleanliness (16%). The total number of rest days (days off work) of all patients due to occupational dermatosis was 1,077 days.

Discussion:

The most affected items coincide with the performance under humid conditions and the use of sanitizers, soaps, detergents and cleaning products in general, which favors a higher incidence of contact dermatitis. Contact dermatitis was the most frequent diagnosis. The proportion between affected men and women is similar to that described in the literature.