The prevalence rate of cutaneous lesions in NICU-admitted neonates

Background: Skin disorders in neonates can be considered as determining concepts for prognosis and genetic counseling. So far, few studies have investigated the relative frequency of neonatal skin disorders. The present study aimed to investigate cutaneous lesions and their relationship with other variables in neonates hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 403 neonates hospitalized in the NICU of Rasoul Akram Hospital in 2014. After selecting the patients via convenience sampling, data were collected from the medical records. Results: Of the 403 neonates, 366 (90.8%) had no cutaneous lesions, while 37 (9.2%) had cutaneous lesions. Among the latter group, 18 (48.6%) cases were pathological. According to the results obtained, the gender, type of delivery, gestational age, and reason for hospitalization were not related to the presence of cutaneous lesions and their pathological status (P > 0.05). Moreover, gender, gestational age, and reasons for hospitalization had no significant relationship with the lesion type (P > 0.05). The type of delivery had a statistically significant association with the kind of cutaneous lesions (P = 0.043). Conclusion: Cutaneous lesions in neonates hospitalized in the NICU were less frequent in the present study compared to those in other studies, which can be attributed to the retrospective nature and the lack of direct medical examination of patients.