Extremely Low Birth Weight Infant (Gestational Age of 29 Weeks) With Kabuki Syndrome Type I: Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background This paper aimed to investigate the clinical phenotype of Kabuki syndrome (KS) in premature infants. Methods This paper presents a case of an extremely low birth weight infant (gestational age 29 weeks) with KS1 caused by a variant in the KMT2D gene. The clinical, pathological, and differential diagnostic findings were comprehensively analyzed. A thorough literature review was also performed to enhance the understanding of KS, revealing its unique features and prognostic significance. Results The infant was a male with a gestational age of 29 weeks and a birth weight of 850 g. He had intrauterine growth retardation, characterized by cleft palate, sacrococcygeal skin depressions, and recurrent metabolic acidosis. Whole‐exome sequencing revealed the c.4267C > T (p.Arg1423Cys) variant in the KMT2D gene, which was absent in his parents. The patient was discharged after 67 days of treatment, and he was followed up to 19 months of corrected gestational age, with growth retardation and expression language delay. Ten previous studies on preterm infants were retrieved, with 10 preterm infants. They all had characteristic facial features, such as long blepharophimosis, sparse and lateral 1/3 eyebrows, and large and prominent/cupped ears. Other manifestations were extrauterine growth delay (7/10), abnormal development of the cardiovascular system (7/10), abnormal development of the nervous system (5/10), and cleft palate (2/10). Conclusions Kabuki syndrome is a rare hereditary disorder involving multiple organs and systems. Genetic assessment for preterm infants with congenital abnormalities is recommended.

Keywords

• cleft palate
• extremely low birth weight infant
• Kabuki syndrome
• KMT2D gene
• premature infants