Collodion baby: clinical manifestations and management strategies

A "Collodion baby" is a relatively rare and transient condition in which a newborn is encased in a yellow, thick, shiny, tight, parchment-like membrane; called a 'collodion membrane'. This condition usually precedes the development of one of the various types of ichthyosis- a disorder of cornification. To date, approximately 270 cases of collodion babies have been reported since the disorder was originally described. We report a unique case of a one day old male neonate who presented to our hospital with the presence of this disorder. The discussion covers the clinical aspects and significance of this rare entity.