One-year survey of cutaneous lesions in 1000 consecutive Iranian newborns

Abstract

Our objective was to study skin disorders in neonates within the first 48 hours of life in Ahvaz, Iran. One thousand consecutive neonates were examined in a descriptional prospective cohort study for 1 year (2002-03). The rate of skin disorders and their relationship to age of gestation and sex were calculated and analyzed using the computerized program SPSS version 10 and chi-squared test (chi2). Our findings were Mongolian spots (71.3%), Epstein pearls (70.2%), sebaceous hyperplasia (43.7%), salmon patch (26.2%), hypertrichosis (25.7%), erythema toxicum (11.1%), milia (7.5%), desquamation (1.9%), hemangioma (1.3%), and miliaria (1.3%). The most frequent skin disorders were Mongolian spots, Epstein pearls, and sebaceous hyperplasia. Differences between our study findings and those of others may be based on racial differences and study method.