Successful outcome of lamellar ichthyosis with oral retinoid therapy: A series of six cases

Lamellar ichthyosis (LI) is a rare skin disorder inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. Affected babies are born in a collodion membrane that sheds gradually revealing extensive scaling of the skin. The present communication is intended to provide the details of oral isotretinoin therapy in the management of LI in six children. The dose of oral isotretinoin which produced maximum clearing of the lesions with minimum side effects was found to vary from 0.6 mg/kg to 1 mg/kg body weight among these children and the duration of therapy lasted from 6 to 16 weeks. Therapeutic improvement varied from excellent in four and mild to satisfactory in two children and cheilitis of the lips was observed to be the main side effect.