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Statistical survey of skin changes in Japanese neonates
Insights
Common neonatal skin conditions like erythema toxicum neonatorum and mongolian spots are frequent in newborns. Infant maturity correlates with erythema toxicum neonatorum, while infections are rare.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Dermatology
- Pediatric Epidemiology
Background:
- Neonatal skin findings are common, but their prevalence varies.
- Understanding these variations is crucial for clinical assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To document the frequency of various neonatal skin changes and birthmarks.
- To explore potential correlations between infant characteristics and skin findings.
Main Methods:
- Prospective observational study over 10 years.
- Weekly neonatal ward visits for 5387 infants.
- Data collection on specific skin conditions and birthmarks.
Main Results:
- Erythema toxicum neonatorum (40.8%) and mongolian spots (81.5%) were most frequent.
- Salmon patches (22.3%) and perianal dermatitis (18.9%) were also common.
- Positive association found between infant maturity and erythema toxicum neonatorum.
Conclusions:
- Common neonatal skin conditions have high prevalence.
- Infant maturity influences the occurrence of certain skin findings.
- Neonatal skin infections, excluding candidiasis, are infrequent.
Abstract:
We observed 5387 infants over 10 years in weekly visits to a neonatal ward and obtained the following frequency data on these skin changes: erythema toxicum neonatorum, 40.8%; perianal dermatitis, 18.9%; scrotal pigmentation, 15.2%; miliaria, 8.5%; and adnexal polyp of neonatal skin, 4.1%. The frequencies of the types of birthmarks were: mongolian spots, 81.5%; salmon patches, 22.3%; nevocellular nevi, 2.7%; port-wine stains, 2.1%; strawberry marks, 1.7%; café au lait spots, 1.7% (including a case of von Recklinghausen's disease); epidermal and sebaceous nevi, 0.3%; accessory auricles, 0.3%; and smooth muscle hamartomas, 0.2%. A positive relationship was observed between infant maturity and the prevalence of erythema toxicum neonatorum. Apart from candidiasis, neonatal skin infections were extremely rare.