Prevalence and presentation of cutaneous lesions in healthy neonates: A single-center study from Eastern India

Abstract

Background: Skin lesions are much common and specific to neonates. They vary according to age, sex, and geographic region. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of different cutaneous lesions in newborns and their association with the type of delivery, age, sex, and maturity. Materials and Methods: This study was done in neonatal follow-up clinic of department of Pediatrics, Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Medical College, Berhampur, Odisha. All the healthy newborns coming to the OPD from January 2015 to December 2016 were included in this prospective study, and their details were recorded in case recording format after taking informed consent from their guardians. Admitted patients were excluded from the study. Statistical assessments were the done by SPSS software. Results: Out of 500 neonates, skin lesions
were found in 366 (73.2%) patients. Physiological cutaneous lesions were most common, consisting 259 (70.7%) neonates. Out of the physiological lesions, benign transient lesions were seen in 163 (44.6%), out of which 95 (25.9%) had papulopustular dermatoses followed by erythema toxicum in 48 (13.1%) cases. Birthmarks were seen in 138 (37.8%) cases; pigmentary birthmarks 89 (24.5%) being the most common birthmarks followed by Mongolian spots in 71 (19.4%) cases. Pathological lesions were seen in 107 (29.3%) cases, of which nappy rash was detected in 65 (18.01%) cases. Term and male babies had a higher incidence of skin lesions. Conclusion: Benign lesions are the most common group of neonatal cutaneous manifestations which is followed by birthmarks. Conditions such as nappy rash and contact dermatitis are common pathological lesions and
majority of them are preventable. Differentiation of the physiologic skin lesions from the pathologic ones is essential to avoid unnecessary therapeutic interventions.