A clinical study of dermatotses in neonates in Silchar medical college

Abstract

According to WHO a neonate, is a child under 28 days of age. The neonatal skin changes show a wide geographic and ethnic variation. It is important to know the pattern of dermatoses prevalent among Indian children during the neonatal period. The current study was conducted to study the prevalence of neonatal dermatoses in southern Assam and to study relationship of neonatal dermatoses with maturity and birth weight of neonates.150 neonates who developed cutaneous lesions over a period of one year were examined. Proportion of each dermatoses and prevalence ratio were calculated using relevant formulae. Out of the 150 neonates, 66 % neonates had transient physiological changes, 11.33% had congenital disorders and genodermatoses, 4.67% had iatrogenic complications, 30% had acquired skin diseases, 8% had neonatal infections and 2% had other miscellaneous diseases. The five most common dermatoses overall were diaper dermatitis (17.33%), miliaria (14%), erythema toxicum neonatorum (13.33%), infantile seborrheic dermatitis (12.67%), sebaceous gland hyperplasia (6%) and Mongolian spot (6%). Low birth weight babies had predilection for vernix caseosa, sucking blisters, candidiasis, miniature puberty, caput succedaneum, cephalohematoma, physiological jaundice, infantile acropustulosis, salmon patch, Epstein’s pearls/ Bohn's nodules, miliaria, sebaceous gland hyperplasia, neonatal acne, Mongolian spot, bullous impetigo, erythroderma Preterm neonates had predilection for vernix caseosa, sucking blisters, miniature puberty, candidiasis, Mongolian spot, caput succedaneum, cephalohematoma, erythroderma, miliaria, Epstein’s pearls/ Bohn's nodules and a positive association was seen between post-term neonates and physiological desquamation, diaper dermatitis. Neonatal psoriasis and neonatal dermatophyte infection were the unusual findings which we found in our study.