Zinc deficiency in infants: a rare case of enteropathic acrodermatitis?

Abstract

Introduction: enteropathic acrodermatitis is a rare hereditary disorder of zinc metabo­lism, and may present with malnutrition, diarrhea, alopecia, dermatitis and recurrent infec­tions. The certainty diagnosis is made by the genetic test. Objective: to report a case of zinc deficiency in infants with a typical clinical picture of enteropathic acrodermatitis, whi­ch, although suggestive, could not be confirmed by genetic testing. Case description: an 11 month old patient with dermatitis, chronic diarrhea and zinc deficiency started after weaning from breast milk with initial improvement after zinc replacement and death due to sepsis. Discussion: in this case report, we have a patient attended in a hospital whe­re the specific test isn’t available, however the clinical, laboratory and evolution are quite suggestive of this disease. The treatment is the zinc replacement and it’s results is satisfactory.