Trichothiodystrophy is a rare condition associated with autosomal recessive or X-linked dominant variants in the ERCC2, ERCC3, GTF2H5, MPLKIP, RNF113A or GTF2E2 genes. The genes associated to photosensitive trichothiodystrophy encode subunits of transcription factor IIH, involved in the nucleotide excision repair pathway. The disease is characterised by cysteine-deficient brittle hair along with other neuroectodermal abnormalities. It has a variable clinical expression and some cases might be associated with photosensitivity, resulting in the acronym PIBIDS (photosensitivity, ichthyosis, brittle hair, intellectual impairment, decreased fertility and short stature). We report clinical findings of two siblings diagnosed with trichothiodystrophy associated with marked photosensitivity.

PIBIDS syndrome (photosensitivity, ichthyosis, brittle hair, intellectual impairment, decreased fertility and short stature) is a variant of trichothiodystrophy. It is a rare form of autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis. Short stature is a vital component of PIBIDS syndrome. We present the cases of two siblings in whom we diagnosed PIBIDS syndrome. On evaluation for short stature, they were found to have severe vitamin D deficiency, which on correction led to the patients having considerable gain in stature. With this case, we would also like to propose that vitamin D deficiency could be one of the treatable causes of short stature in PIBIDS syndrome.