[Collodion baby and harlequin fetus. Comparison of 2 cases].
Two cases of severe congenital ichthyosis are presented: "collodion baby" and "harlequin fetus". The collodion baby is no clinical entity, but a symptom occurring in several forms of ichthyosis. In our patient the collodion skin was a symptom of ichthyosis congaenita (lamellar ichthyosis). Treatment with orally administered steroids was life-saving. The harlequin fetus represents a distinct entity characterized by a lethal genotype. There is a molecular defect of keratinization.