Rapid improvement in digital ischemia and acral contracture in a collodion baby treated with topical tazarotene.

Collodion baby is a rare congenital disorder whereby affected infants are born encased in a thick, taut, shiny, translucent membrane. The majority of babies with collodion membrane have associated disorders, most commonly nonbullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma and lamellar ichthyosis. The authors report a case of collodion baby with rare complication of acral contracture, ischemia and nail dystrophy. Topical treatment with tazarotene 0.1% gel resulted in rapid improvement. The patient developed normal nail plates and full motor function in both hands and feet following treatment. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the benefit of topical tazarotene for management of this rare condition in a neonate.