Dermatoses Profile and Its Correlation with Maternal Factors Admitted Among Neonates Admitted to a Tertiary Care Hospital in Coastal South India

Abstract

Neonatal skinchangesarefrequentandareanimportantcauseofparental

distressseekingpaediatricconsultation. Majorityofneonatalcutaneouslesionsare transitoryand

self-limited.However,pathologicallesionsrequiretreatment.Itisofparamountimportanceto

identifyanddiagnose   them    correctlyto avoid unwarrantedtherapeuticinterventions.

Aims:Tostudythefrequency

ofphysiologicalandpathologicalskin

findingsinneonatesand

determinetheirassociationwithsociodemographicfactorsandmaternalcomorbidconditionsandobstetricprofile.

Methods:Acrosssectionalstudywascarriedoutamong288neonates,admittedin3tertiarycarecentres,foraperiodof6months.Neonateswereexaminedfordermatosesandrecordedin

apresetproforma.Theresultswereexpressedasmean,standarddeviation,andpercentage.

Theassociation between theskinfindingsand severalvariableswastestedusingChi-square test

AndZtest.

Results:Theincidenceofdermatoseswas80.9%(n=233)ofwhich81.5%(n=190)werephysiologicaland 6.9%(n=16)werepathological.Mostcommon skin finding wasMongolianspots (47.6%). Bacterial infection (4.9%) was the common pathological lesion. Mongolian spotsamonginfantsborntomotherswhounderwentcesareansection,lanugohairamonglowbirth

weightbabies(P<0.05)andphysiologicaldesquamationinposttermbabieswerecommon.

Incidence of dermatoses among mothers above 25 years and in primigravida with normal courseofpregnancywas high.

Conclusions: Physiological skin lesions in neonates are common. Factors like maternal age andcomorbid illness were not significantly associated with cutaneous lesions. A detailed knowledgeontheneonatalskinbydermatologistsandpediatriciansisessentialforthediagnosisand

managementofthesetransitoryskinconditionsastheyareacause ofmajorconcernamong parents.