Article: Allergic Contact Dermatitis Caused by Ultrasonic Gel

To the Editor:

The use of ultrasound imaging in the practice of anesthesia has been steadily increasing. Today, there are many hospitals in which high-resolution ultrasound is used for precise needle placement when performing regional anesthetics or central venous access. Ultrasonic gels for acoustic coupling between the transducer and the skin surface are typically thought to be harmless to the skin. However, their thickeners, dissolvers, preservatives, and coloring agents can be potential sensitizers. Only a few cases of contact hypersensitivity from gel application have been reported.1-8

During a hands-on ultrasound workshop, we scanned a healthy 29-year-old test person for approximately ...

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