Neonatal pustular dermatosis: an overview

Neonatal pustular eruption is a group of disorders characterized by various forms of pustulosis seen in first 4 weeks of life. Its presentation is often similar with some subtle differences, which can be further established by few simple laboratory aids, to arrive at a definite diagnosis. Given their ubiquitous presentation, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate among self-limiting, noninfectious, pustular dermatosis such as erythema toxicum neonatorum, transient neonatal pustular melanosis, miliaria pustulosa, etc., and potentially life threatening infections such as herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus infections. This review article tries to address the chronological, clinical, morphological, and histological differences among the various pustular eruptions in a newborn, in order to make it easier for a practicing dermatologist to diagnose and treat these similar looking but different entities of pustulation with a clear demarcation between the physiological benign pustular rashes and the infectious pustular lesions.