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Introduction: Lamellar ichthyosis (collodion baby) is a cornification disorder classified under the category of autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis and characterized by hyperkeratosis. Early-stage retinoid treatment has been shown to improve survival in these patients. In this article, a lamellar ichthyosis case is presented of an infant who had the symptoms at birth and was treated successfully with acitretin. Case Presentation: A term newborn infant presented after delivery. Physical examination showed that the skin on her outer mouth, neck, axillae, and inguinal fold areas had collodion membranes and peelings. On the third day of life, the skin all over her body became dry and seemed similar to parchment paper, with peeling in some areas, as well as ectropion and eclabium development. After her daily bath, liquid Vaseline was applied all over her body, but it did not provide enough benefits. The infant was started on acitretin treatment. On the 14th day of treatment, the skin appeared nearly normal. On the 28th day of life, the infant was discharged. Conclusions: Early oral retinoid treatment facilitates increased quality of life improves survival rates for ichthyosis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Chronic hyperkeratotic dermatitis of the palms and soles represents a severe multi-etiological problem, too often faced with ineffective or tedious topical remedies. METHODS: A single-blind, matched-sample design investigation was carried out of 42 patients with chronic hyperkeratotic palmoplantar dermatitis, who were administered acitretin 25-50 mg/day for 1 month, which was controlled versus a conventional topical treatment (betamethasone/salicylic acid ointment). Therapeutic improvement was expressed with the reduction of severity score (expressed on a 0-10 scale). RESULTS: Acitretin was significantly better than the conventional treatment after 30 days (two sided p <0.0001). Moreover, improvement significantly persisted 5 months after suspension of acitretin ( p <0.0001), while this was not the case after suspension of the control treatment ( p =0.3019). Lesions improved more rapidly with acitretin than with the control treatment ( p <0.0002). Some cases of loss of sensitization in patch-test-positive patients were observed. Side effects were minimal or absent, and patients expressed overtly their preference for acitretin treatment. CONCLUSION: After evaluating the former literature, the risks and the benefits, as well as the overt superiority of retinoid treatment, the authors conclude that acitretin should be considered a first choice treatment for this fastidious condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]