PHILADELPHIA — Infants with at least one typical site of nevus simplex involvement are likely to have involvement in less typical sites as well, according to a retrospective study of 28 infants.
Nevus simplex—the most common birthmark of infancy—typically affects the forehead, glabella, upper eyelids, and nape.
Among the patients in this study, approximately two-thirds had scalp involvement (69%), 64% had nose involvement, 64% had upper- or lower-lip involvement, and more than half (54%) had lumbosacral involvement, reported Dr. Anna Juern and colleagues in a poster at the annual meeting of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology.
For the study, the researchers identified 28 infants with nevus simplex who were seen at two tertiary care centers. The infants (15 girls and 13 boys) had a median age of 4.5 months.
The infants also had at least one typical site of involvement, noted Dr. Juern, a pediatric dermatology research fellow at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
“It's important to recognize that widespread involvement beyond the typical sites does occur,” the researchers wrote. Nevus simplex involvement of less-typical areas may lead to confusion with port-wine stains and other vascular birthmarks.
“Using the name 'nevus simplex' to describe these [atypical] lesions will aid in the correct diagnosis of these lesions and provide reassurance to parents, due to their benign nature,” the researchers concluded.