Cutaneous manifestations in 1000 Pakistani newborns

Background Cutaneous manifestations are commonly seen in neonates. Benign dermatoses in newborns must be distinguished from more serious, life threatening disorders with cutaneous manifestations. Objective To determine the frequency of various dermatoses i.e. physiological and pathological among newborns up to 96 hours of age. Patients and methods 1000 full-term neonates were enrolled from labour rooms and pediatric nursery of Jinnah hospital, Lahore and were evaluated for cutaneous manifestations. All the relevant data regarding history, clinical examination and investigations were recorded and analyzed. Results Out of 1000 neonates, there were 469 boys and 531 girls. Their mean age was 72 hours (6- 96 hrs). Cutaneous manifestations were present in 94% of babies and 82.5% babies had more than one manifestation. The most common dermatoses were Mongolian spots (63.2%), Epstein pearls (47.8%), sebaceous hyperplasia (44.8%), miliaria (12.8%), hypertrichosis (12%), erythema toxicum neonatorum (12%), salmon patch (12%) and impetigo (11.4%). Uncommon manifestations included desquamation 8.5%, omphalitis 8% and birth trauma (7.7%). Rare dermatoses were hemangiomas (3.5%), café-au-lait macules (2.6%), congenital melanocytic nevus (2.4%), acne neonatorum (0.9%), preauricular skin tag (0.4%), cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita and collodion baby in (0.1%) each. Conclusion Cutaneous manifestations are frequent in newborns