Asthma rhinitis and dermatitis after occupational exposure to cyanoacrylate glues

Cyanoacrylate glues are more and widely used in the industry because of easy handling and great sticking power. These very volatile and chemically reactive glues may not only cause contact eczema, but also rhinitis and asthma. Nineteen cases of asthma have been reported to date. We report two new cases of occupational asthma as well as one case of urticaria, a clinical symptom not yet described, to our knowledge. In the three cases, diagnosis was made based on a compatible medical history and positive realistic exposure tests. The mechanism is still unknown, due to the physical properties of cyanoacrylate glues; in fact, it is not possible to perform prick tests or specific IgE measurements. Besides the usual preventive measures, maintaining a relative humidity greater than 55% seems to induce polymerization of free monomers of alkyl cyanoacrylate, thereby reducing their volatility. Rhinitis and asthma due to cyanoacrylate glue may receive compensation as occupational diseases in France.