Pityriasis Rosea in Infancy

Pityriasis rosea is an acute, self-limited skin disease of unknown cause, characterized by oval, papulosquamous lesions that are distributed on the trunk and extremities. The disease is worldwide in distribution and accounts for 1% to 2% of all patients attending dermatologic clinics. 1 Most cases occur in young adulthood, between the ages of 10 and 35 years, in an equal sex distribution. 1,2 The occurrence of pityriasis rosea in infants under 2 years of age is uncommon, with fewer than 20 cases mentioned in the medical literature. Five of these cases are carefully described (Table). The youngest reported patient was 3 months old. 3 We report a typical case of pityriasis rosea in a 16-month-old infant, and review other cases in infancy. Report of a Case A 16-month-old black female infant had a scaly red patch on the upper part of her chest that developed in November 1974. The lesion