Neonatal pemphigus in an infant born to a mother with pemphigus vulgaris: A case report

Abstract

Objective: To report on the case of a patient with neonatal pemphigus that had extensive and critical skin lesions at birth. Case description: A newborn male with extensive vesico-bullous lesions on the anterior side of his chest and abdomen at birth. He was admitted to the pediatric ward of a hospital for an etiological diagnosis and for treatment. Based on maternal history and a clinical evaluation, the patient was diagnosed with neonatal vulgar pemphigus. His progression was satisfactory and, in the end, he did not need pharmacological interventions. Comments: The cases reported in the literature and the references evaluated reveal that neonatal pemphigus is rare, but that knowledge about the disease allows for an early diagnosis to be made. This has great clinical relevance considering that the disease usually manifests itself in the form of extensive epidermal lesions, even though it is transient and benign, it does not require specific treatment, and it does not have any relation with possible future diseases.