Lamellar ichthyosis. The natural clinical course of collodion baby

Abstract

The clinical and microscopic data from previously published cases of lamellar exfoliation of the newborn (collodion baby) have been summarized and 4 new cases of the entity with follow-up observations and kinetic studies were presented. The clinical, histopathological, genetic, and kinetic features of the cases after desquamation of the membrane, are identical to those of lamellar ichthyosis (nonbullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma). Lamellar exfoliation of the newborn seems indistinguishable from lamellar ichthyosis and represents an unusual initial manifestation of this dermatosis. Lamellar ichthyosis presents more commonly without this preceding collodion-baby stage. By considering these dermatoses in this manner, the terms lamellar exfoliation of the newborn and lamellar ichthyosis are nicely linked together as different stages of the same disease.