Omenn's syndrome and related combined immunodeficiency syndromes: diagnostic considerations in infants with persistent erythroderma and failure to thrive

Neonatal erythroderma: diagnostic and therapeutic challenges

Erythroderma a life-threatening entity during the first one month, and many a time, a manifestation of genodermatosis, immune deficiency, psoriasis, metabolic diseases, and infections. Atopic dermatitis presenting as erythroderma is usually observed later, after this one-month period, and hence not a common differential for neonatal exfoliative dermatitis. Although a rare entity, there is a paucity of studies on this and in contrast to adults, some may manifest as cardinal signs of primary disease conditions.

Neonatal erythroderma

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Neonatal erythroderma is a potentially life-threatening condition in neonates less than 1 month old. During the first month of life, erythroderma is generally a presentation of genodermatosis, primary immune deficiency, or, more exceptionally, severe psoriasis, metabolic disease or infection. Atopic erythroderma is observed later in life, usually after the age of 1 month. Rapid determination of the underlying cause is crucial for better management. However, the diagnosis is often a challenge for the clinician and is frequently delayed due to the nonspecific nature of the clinical signs. We summarize the different causes of neonatal erythrodermas and list their clinical, biological, histological, and sometimes genetic characteristics.

RECENT FINDINGS

Severe erythroderma, typified by early onset, skin induration, severe alopecia and failure to thrive, is immediately suggestive of immunodeficiency or Netherton syndrome. In such cases, an early skin biopsy may be particularly of use in allowing accurate differentiation between these two disorders.

SUMMARY

This review outlines the clinical and histological features of these disorders and suggests an approach to their differential diagnosis and management.

Omenn's syndrome: lessons from a red baby

Exfoliative dermatitis and erythroderma in infancy are rare. Clinicians need to be alert to the possible diagnosis of Omenn's syndrome (OS), a rare form of combined immunodeficiency in infants presenting with exfoliative dermatitis, erythroderma, recurrent infections, eosinophilia and raised IgE. OS is fatal unless treated by bone-marrow transplantation (BMT). We describe a 3-week-old girl who presented with a widespread scaly erythematous rash and stomatitis, and was initially treated for presumed atopic eczema and primary herpes stomatitis. Aged 3 months, she developed erythroderma, diarrhoea and hepatosplenomegaly associated with eosinophilia, raised serum IgE and low IgG, IgA and IgM levels, abnormal lymphocyte populations and skin histology, consistent with a diagnosis of OS. She remains well 16 months after a human leucocyte antigen-matched bone-marrow transplant from an unrelated donor.

Neonatal and infantile erythroderma: a clinical and follow-up study of 42 cases

Erythroderma in neonates and infants is a frequently encountered problem in the daily practice of pediatric dermatology. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of various causes of this clinical entity, as well as which clinical and laboratory findings are useful in the differentiation of these causes, and to assess the evolution of this disease in this age group. Forty-two patients with erythroderma under 1 year of age were included in this study. A follow-up period of 3-5 years was completed. The study was performed in the Department of Dermatology, Al-Sadr and Alhakeem teaching hospitals and a private section in Najaf governorate, Iraq during the period 1998-2006. The diagnosis was made at an average of 3 months after the onset of the disease. The underlying causes included seborrheic dermatitis in 21.4%, atopic dermatitis in 14.3%, different types of Ichthyoses in 31.5%, psoriasis in 4.7%, pityriasis rubra pilaris in 2.4%, Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome in 7.14%, Netherton syndrome in 4.7%, immune deficiency syndromes in 4.8% and undetermined erythroderma in 9.5% of the patients. Of 29 cases, histopathological examination of skin biopsy showed non-specific features in 58.7% and could confirm the diagnosis in 41.3% cases. The prognosis was poor with a mortality rate of 26.2% and severe dermatoses persisted in 60% of the survivors. It is difficult to make the etiological diagnosis of neonatal erythroderma from the first examination. Associated immune deficiency should be suspected if the condition associated with skin indurations, severe alopecia, failure to thrive and/or have infectious complications. The prognosis is poor especially in those with immune deficiency or a chronic persistent course.

Life-threatening erythroderma: diagnosing and treating the “red man”

Exfoliative erythroderma, or diffuse erythema and scaling of the skin, may be the morphologic presentation of a variety of cutaneous and systemic diseases. Establishing the diagnosis of the underlying disease is often difficult and, not uncommonly, erythroderma is classified as idiopathic. Several cases are presented to demonstrate the diversity of presentation of this disease. Laboratory findings are typically unhelpful in establishing the etiology of erythroderma. Clinical data combined with multiple skin biopsies over time are necessary. Systemic complications of erythroderma include infection, fluid and electrolyte imbalances, thermoregulatory disturbance, high output cardiac failure, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. The initial approach to the management of erythroderma of any etiology includes attention to nutrition, fluid and electrolyte replacement, and the institution of gentle local skin care measures. Oatmeal baths and wet dressings to weeping or crusted sites should be followed by application of bland emollients and low-potency topical corticosteroids. Systemic dermatologic therapy may be required to maintain improvement achieved with local measures or to control erythroderma refractory to local measures. The prognosis of erythroderma is dependent on the underlying etiology.

An unusual concurrence of graft versus host disease caused by engraftment of maternal lymphocytes with DiGeorge anomaly

We describe a girl with DiGeorge anomaly and normal cytogenetic and molecular studies, whose clinical course was complicated by graft versus host disease caused by intrauterine materno-fetal transfusion, and several immunohematological alterations including a monoclonal gammapathy of undetermined significance (first IgG, which subsequently changed to IgM). The main clinical features and pathological findings are discussed.

Erythroderma

Erythroderma can be caused by a variety of underlying dermatoses, infections, and systemic diseases. Many of the findings on history, physical examination, and laboratory evaluation are nondiagnostic. Distinctive clinical and laboratory features pointing to a specific disease may be evident, however. Conclusive clinicopathologic correlation may require multiple and repeated skin biopsies. The prognosis of erythroderma has improved with the advent of innovative dermatologic therapies (e.g., cyclosporine and synthetic retinoids) and advances in the management of systemic manifestations. Death from sepsis, cardiac failure, adult respiratory distress syndrome, and capillary leak syndrome continue to be rarely reported. A high index of suspicion for these complications must be maintained to facilitate early medical intervention.

Characterization of immune function and analysis of RAG gene mutations in Omenn syndrome and related disorders

Omenn syndrome was recently found to be caused by missense mutations in RAG1 or RAG2 gene that result in partial V(D)J recombination activity. Although the clinical hallmarks of the disease are well defined, there have been several cases with clinical findings similar to, but distinct from Omenn syndrome. The data on immune functions and RAG gene mutations of such cases are limited. We described five Japanese infants from four unrelated families, including two cases of Omenn syndrome and three cases of related disorders. Sibling cases with typical Omenn phenotype were found to be compound heterozygotes of R396C and L885R mutations in RAG1. The former has been reported in European cases and may constitute a hot spot. The latter is a novel missense mutation. Infants with related disorders exhibited erythroderma, eosinophilia, hypogammaglobulinaemia, decreased number of B cells and skewing to Th2, and their lymph node specimens showed architectural effacement, lymphocyte depletion and histiocytic hyperplasia, each of which is seen characteristically in Omenn syndrome. However, in these cases serum IgE levels were low or undetectable. We found no mutation in RAG genes except for a K820R substitution in RAG1, which was regarded to be a functional polymorphism, in two of these cases. Our study suggests that RAG missense mutation may be a genetic abnormality unique to Omenn syndrome with characteristic clinical and laboratory findings. Variations of Omenn syndrome, or related disorders, may represent a different type of immunodeficiency, distinct from abnormalities in lymphoid-specific recombinase activity.

Severe congenital generalized exfoliative erythroderma in newborns and infants: a possible sign of Netherton syndrome

We examined skin biopsy specimens from 17 of 19 newborns or infants with generalized ichthyosiform, exfoliative, seborrheic, or psoriasiform erythroderma. The specimens showed similar characteristic but nonspecific and therefore, at first sight, uninformative histologic features. Morphologically, the skin was affected overall with a persistent outbreak of eczema-like eruptions of subacute or chronic dermatitis. Pronounced dermal inflammatory processes were obvious by their perivascular and interstitial presence as well as exocytosis of lymphocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils. Epidermal barrier function was Impaired by the highly suppressed terminal differentiation, with thin or in part completely absent stratum corneum, decrease of keratin filaments, decrease or lack of keratohyalin granules, and of keratinosomes containing stacks of lipid membranes. As a result, the formation and discharge of epidermal barrier lipids from the keratinosomes that normally provide intercellular lamellar sheets at the granular-horny layer interface contributing to the epidermal barrier, was highly disturbed. The concomitant loss of water, electrolytes, and proteins by fluid exudation caused the patients severe metabolic problems and recurrent infections. The suspicion of Netherton syndrome was eventually confirmed in 18 patients by light microscopic demonstration of bamboo hairs (trichorrhexis invaginata), mostly from the scalp, but also in vellus hairs and eyelashes. Atopy actually belongs to the symptom triad defining Netherton syndrome and is, in our opinion, primarily responsible for the pathologic events within the skin and of the keratinizing parts of the growing hair shafts. Differential expression of the atopic condition determines the appearance of the keratinization disorder of the skin, namely, severe, generalized, exfoliative erythroderma or milder forms of ichthyosis linearis circumflexa Comèl. Retinold treatment seems to be contraindicated in these conditions since their biopharmacologic effects involve suppression of terminal differentiation, which is the proper pathognomonic event. In six patients the condition had a fatal course within months because of hypernatremia, recurrent infections, failure to thrive, and sepsis. Our aim is to call attention to and reaffirm that in congenital or early infantile cases of generalized exfoliative erythroderma. Netherton syndrome should be suspected as the underlying disease.