An Infant with Worsening Rash

    March 2018 in “ ˜The œjournal of applied laboratory medicine ”
    Ari N. Berlin, Hallie F. Morris, Carrie C. Coughlin, Andrew J. White
    Studysummary This article presents a case study of a 3-month-old boy with a worsening rash initially diagnosed as impetigo, which did not improve with antibiotics and required further dermatological investigation.
    Our plain-language summary. Not medical advice or a treatment recommendation. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before changing treatment. Full disclaimer
    A 3-month-old boy presented with a worsening rash initially thought to be impetigo but was later diagnosed with acrodermatitis enteropathica, a zinc deficiency disorder. Despite normal vital signs and no other symptoms, his zinc level was low at 0.18 μg/mL. Genetic testing for the SLC39A4 gene, associated with hereditary zinc deficiency, revealed no mutations. The patient was treated with oral zinc supplementation and clindamycin for possible staphylococcal superinfection, leading to improvement. This case highlighted the importance of considering zinc deficiency in infants with specific rash distributions and the effectiveness of zinc supplementation in treatment.
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