The incidence of birthmarks in neonates born in Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Skin manifestations are common in neonates. Most of them are considered transient. It is important to differentiate these lesions from pathologic ones to avoid unnecessary diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. The present study was designed to evaluate the frequency of skin manifestations and its related factors in neonates born in Zanjan, Iran. Materials and Methods: All neonates born in the teaching Moussavi hospital in Zanjan, Iran from December 2010 to July 2011were examined for skin manifestations. The influences of variables such as gestational age, gender, route of delivery, skin and hair color, placental status, history of drugs used by mother and neonatal age by hours were evaluated. Data were collected by using SPSS software 16 and Statistical analysis was performed by Chi-squared test. Results: Five hundred neonates were examined. In 95.6% at least one lesion was found. The most common skin lesions were epstein pearl (60.4%) and Mongolian spot (56%) respectively. Mongolian spot was related significantly to gestational age and black hair color (P = 0.03). Epstein Pearl was significantly related to normal delivery (P = 0.02). There were a significant relationship between sebaceous hyperplasia and increasing gestational age (P = 0.004), and erythema toxicum was significantly related to cesarean section (P = 0.02). Conclusion: In this study the incidence of skin manifestations and epstein pearl were similar to other studies. We found significant relationship between epstein pearl and erythema toxicum with type of delivery. Sebaceous hyperplasia and Mongolian spot were related to gestational age.