title: Calcified nodule on the heel of a child following a single heel stick in the neonatal period.
abstract: Dystrophic cutaneous calcification may arise at sites of local trauma or in association with various disorders. Calcified nodules of the heel have been reported in high-risk neonates following repeated heel sticks to draw blood. We present a healthy 2-year-old boy with a calcified nodule on the heel secondary to a single heel stick in the neonatal period. The patient was born full-term at 38 weeks' gestation, with a birth weight appropriate for gestational age. A firm nodule was noticed at the age of 8 months; this became tender. Histology revealed epidermal and subepidermal deposition of calcium. Serum calcium and phosphate levels were normal. Although calcified heel nodules occur mostly in high-risk neonates, this case suggests that this condition also can occur in healthy children after only a single heel stick. Dermatologists should include this entity in the differential diagnosis of warty papules on the heels of children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: N-K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Rho
authors.forename: S-J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Youn
authors.forename: H-S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: W-S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: E-S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D002114:Calcinosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006365:Heel; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018962:Phlebotomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012875:Skin Diseases, Metabolic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology