An Image for Differential Diagnosis

Document Type : Short Communication

Authors

Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Egypt

Abstract

It is the most common transient rash in healthy neonate, which is a benign, self-limiting, physiological rash affecting about 50% of term newborn. It is rarely seen in preterm infants. They usually begin at 1 to 2 days of age, but may occur at any time until about the fourth day. Blotchy erythematous macules 1 to 3 cm in diameter with a 1 to 4 mm central vesicle or pustule are seen in erythema toxicum neonatorum (ETN). Number of lesions can vary from one or two to several hundred. They are not only more profuse on the trunk, but also commonly appear on face and proximal limbs and spares palms and soles. The infant appears well, unperturbed by the eruption. Spontaneous recovery usually occurs within 3 to 7 days without any residual pigmentation . A smear of the central vesicle or pustule contents reveals numerous eosinophils on Wright stain preparations. No organisms can be seen or cultured. A peripheral blood eosinophilia of up to 20% may be associated with severe cases.  No treatment is indicated and apprehensive parents can be reassured about the benign nature of the eruption.

Main Subjects

References

1. Ghosh S. Neonatal pustular dermatosis: an overview. Indian J Dermatol. 2015; 60(2):211. doi:10.4103/0019-5154.152558 2. Nanda A, Kaur S, Bhakoo ON, Dhall K. Survey of cutaneous lesions in Indian newborns. Pediatr Dermatol. 1989;6:39–42. [PubMed] [Google Scholar] 3. Keitel HG, Yadav V. Etiology of toxic erythema. Am J Dis Child. 1963;106:306–9.[PubMed] [Google Scholar] 4. Hidano A, Purwoko R, Jitsukawa T. Statistical survey of skin changes in Japanese neonates. Pediatr Dermatol. 1986;3:140–4. [PubMed] [Google Scholar] 5. Chang MW, Orlow SJ. Neonatal, Pediatric, and Adolescent Dermatology. In: Wolff K, Goldsmith LA, Katz SI, Gilchrest BA, Paller AS, Leffell DJ,
editors. Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. 7th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Mc Graw Hill Medical; 2008. pp. 935–54.
Citation: El-Bakry N and Hashim M. 2019. An Image for Differential Diagnosis. Ann Neo J. 2019, 1(2):: 72-74.
Copyright: El-Bakry N and Hashim M. 2019. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics