Dermatology Online Journal

Unknown: Vesicular eruption on the arm of an infant
LCDR Wilfred A Lumbang MC USN¹, LT Brooke A Caufield MC USN²
Dermatology Online Journal 16 (5): 13

1. Staff Dermatologist, Naval Health Clinic Great Lakes, Illinois. wlumbang@hotmail.com
2. General Medical Officer, US Navy Recruit Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois

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Case synopsis

Figure 1	Figure 2

Figure 3	Figure 4

A 6-month-old female infant was admitted to the pediatric ward for pneumonia. She was the product of an uncomplicated full term pregnancy. Her past medical history was unremarkable. She was in perfect health without preceding recurrent infections. There was no known family history of immunodeficiency. A diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia was made based on lobar consolidation seen on plain chest films. Blood cultures were negative. An intravenous line was placed on the right wrist to initiate intravenous antibiotic treatment and the line was secured with an arm board and bandage. A vesicular eruption, several centimeters proximal to the catheter site, was found on day 3 of admission (Figure 1). The vesicles were sampled for examination with potassium hydroxide (Figure 2) and a biopsy specimen was taken from the site (Figure 3). Tissue culture revealed the organism shown on Figure 4.

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