Pattern of pathological cutaneous lesions of neonates in neonatal care unit of a peripheral tertiary institution in West Bengal

Abstract

Background: A variety of cutaneous disorders have been found in neonatal period. These disorders may be physiological or pathological, temporary or permanent, congenital or acquired. Most of the skin lesions are benign, transient and physiological. Aims and Objectives: To study the incidence of pathological cutaneous disorders of neonates in the neonatal care unit and compare these with other studies in India and also the world. Materials and Methods: It was a hospital based observational, descriptive study. Study duration was one year. Study population was the all admitted neonates in neonatal care unit in peripheral tertiary institution. The study sample size was 108 neonates. We used Chi-square test to evaluate the P value. P value of less than 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. Results: We found 47 neonates (43.52%) as infective skin disorders, 21 cases (19.44%) as naevi and other developmental disorders, 10 cases each (9.26%) as keratinization disorder and eczematous conditions. 19 neonates (17.59%) were put into miscellaneous group. Among the infective disorders, we found 21 cases of bacterial infections, 18 cases of fungal infections, 6 cases of viral infections. Other important findings were of six aplasia cutis congenita cases, five cases of collodion babies, one harlequin baby, two cases of unilateral digital gangrene of upper limb etc. None of the neonatal dermatosis had shown significance (P > 0.05). Inadequate sample size was the possible cause for these results. Conclusion: The pattern of pathological dermatoses was evaluated. An effective knowledge about these dermatoses will be helpful to the Dermatologists and also Pediatricians for proper treatment and to assure the worried parents.