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Miscellanea
Images in paediatrics
Perinatal zinc deficiency
  1. Enrico Valerio1,
  2. Marta Rotella2,
  3. Veronica Mardegan3,
  4. Mario Cutrone4
  1. 1 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, ‘Pietro Cosma’ Hospital, Camposampiero (Padova), Italy
  2. 2 Department of Woman and Child Health, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
  3. 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Woman and Child Health, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
  4. 4 Pediatric Dermatology Unit, ‘Dell'Angelo’ Hospital, Mestre (Venice), Italy
  1. Correspondence to Dr Enrico Valerio, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, ‘Pietro Cosma’ Hospital, Via P. Cosma, 1, Camposampiero (Padova) 35012, Italy; enrico.valerio.md{at}gmail.com, enrico.va{at}inwind.it

https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2015-309944

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    Case presentation

    An ex-preterm, exclusively breastfed baby with poor postnatal growth was evaluated at 5 months of age for perianal erosive dermatitis (figure 1) and foul stools. No other cutaneous involvement was present. Investigations showed mild zinc deficiency (65 μg/dL, range 68–107). Unfortunately, no maternal blood or breast milk zinc levels were available. The dermatitis rapidly improved in six days (figure 2) on oral supplementation with zinc sulfate (2 mg/kg/day), and remained stable on zinc-enriched formula milk, without …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors EV wrote the first draft of the manuscript; MR contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript; VM was involved in post-discharge medical follow-up of the patient, produced related documentation and contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript; MC made the specific diagnosis, took care of the patient in the acute phase, produced photographic documentation and contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Obtained.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.