Survey of cutaneous lesions in Indian newborns.

A total of 900 consecutive newborns delivered at the Nehru Hospital, Chandigarh, India, over a period of 7 months were examined for presence of skin lesions within 48 hours of birth. Commonly observed skin lesions were Epstein pearls (88.7%), mongolian spots (62.2%), milia (34.9%), sebaceous hyperplasia (31.8%), salmon patches (28.4%), and erythema toxicum neonatorum (20.6%). These figures are comparable with earlier reports. Impetigo neonatorum occurred in 11.3% of infants, and was frequent in our hot and humid climate from May to August. Traumatic skin lesions were most often present in babies who had forceps deliveries. Three hundred ten (34%) babies were available for follow-up up to six weeks. Additional skin lesions observed were omphalitis (16 babies), oral thrush (9) and postinflammatory hypomelanosis (8). Three infants had atopic dermatitis, two each had seborrheic dermatitis, diaper dermatitis, pityriasis versicolor, and nevus achromicus. One each had vitiligo, ichthyosis vulgaris, urticaria, and strawberry hemangioma. These observations highlight the importance of repeat examination for the appearance of skin lesions during the neonatal period.