Collodion baby dehydration: the danger of high transepidermal water loss.

We describe transepidermal water loss (TEWL) measurements in a collodion baby suffering from severe hypernatraemic dehydration and hypothermia, who required intravenous fluid therapy in a special incubator. The TEWL values 4 days after birth were abnormally high compared with normal infants of the same age. The TEWL measurements returned towards normal within the first month, in parallel with the improvement of both the skin signs and the electrolyte and fluid balance.