Search Results (5)

Apart from well-known respiratory symptoms, less frequent symptoms also appear as a direct result of COVID-19 infection, or as indirect effects of the recommended quarantine and related lifestyle changes. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human skin is predominantly focused on in this article. Cutaneous manifestations, including redness, chilblain-like symptoms (COVID toes), hives or urticaria rash, water blisters, and fishing net-like red-blue patterns on the skin, may appear as accompanying or as systemic COVID-19 symptoms with potential lesions at different skin sites. These symptoms were related to skin phototypes and vitamin D deficiency. Moreover, Black, Asian, and minority ethnic origin patients are found to be more sensitive to COVID-19 infection than Caucasians because of vitamin D deficiency. The region of population with lighter skin phototypes have a significantly higher chance to develop cutaneous manifestations than population with dark skin. In addition, adverse effects, such as skin barrier damage and irritation, may also occur due to extensive personal protective equipment usage (e.g., masks, protective suits, and a few others) and predominately alcohol-based sanitizers. This manuscript covers various aspects of COVID-19 and its clinical skin manifestations. Full article

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first isolated in Wuhan, China, is currently a pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic, pulmonary issues were the most discussed and studied. However, now 3 years later, the role of the dermatologist has become increasingly central. Often the diversity in the presentation of these manifestations has made it difficult for the dermatologist to recognize them. In addition to the common symptoms involving fever, cough, dyspnea, and hypogeusia/hyposmia that have been widely discussed in the literature, much attention has been paid to dermatologic manifestations in the past year. The vaccination campaign has been the most important strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, two viral vector-based vaccines [Vaxzervria^® (AstraZeneca; AZD1222) and COVID-19 Janssen^® vaccine (Johnson & Johnson; Ad26.COV2. S)] and two mRNA-based vaccines [Comirnaty^® (Pfizer/BioNTech; BNT162b2) and Spikevax^® (Moderna; mRNA-1273)]. However, several cutaneous adverse reactions have been reported following vaccination, making the dermatologist’s role critical. It is possible to group these adverse reactions according to a classification with six main clinical pictures: urticarial rash, erythematous/maculopapular/morbid rash, papulovesicular rash, chilblain-like acral pattern, livedo reticularis/racemose-like, and purpuric “vasculitic” pattern. Beyond this classification, there are several reports of other dermatologic manifestations associated with the infection, such as pityriasis rosea, herpes zoster, or, particularly, the worsening of pre-existing chronic inflammatory dermatologic diseases. Here we report the case of a 61-year-old patient who presented at our clinic with a diffuse psoriasiform eruption mixed with a concomitant blistering rash induced by COVID-19. The uniqueness of our case has two features: the first is the concomitance of the two events after infection that seems to be unprecedented; the second is the management of the patient that could help dermatology colleagues in the management of these conditions during infection. Full article

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a rising concern since its declaration as a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. Recently, its association with multiple underlying organs has been identified that includes cardiac, renal, gastrointestinal, nervous systems, and cutaneous manifestations. Cutaneous COVID-19 findings have been supposedly classified into the following categories: vesicular (varicella-like), papulo-vesiculsar, chilblains-like (“COVID toes”) maculopapular, and urticarial morphologies. In this review, we aim to focus on the proposed pathophysiology behind the various dermatological manifestations associated with COVID-19 and their associated management. We also included prevalence and clinical features of the different COVID-19-related skin lesions in our review. A comprehensive narrative review of the literature was performed in PubMed databases. Data from case reports, observational studies, case series, and reviews till June 2022 were all screened and included in the review. Full article

After the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, our dermatology department created a multidisciplinary unit to manage patients with cutaneous manifestations associated with COVID-19. With the objective of identifying skin lesions in patients with suspected COVID-19 and evaluating possible associations with systemic involvement, other infectious agents and coagulation disorders, we carried out a prospective observational study that included all patients that attended our COVID-19 dermatology clinic with a multidisciplinary protocol. A total of 63 patients (mean 34.6 years) were enrolled between May 2020 and February 2021. Overall, 27 patients (42.9%) had a positive COVID-19 test, and 74.6% had COVID-19 clinical signs. The most common skin lesion was maculopapular rash (36.5%), predominantly seen in male (54.2%) and older patients (42 vs. 30 years), followed by chilblain-like lesions (20.6%) in younger patients (13.9 vs. 20.9 years) who were predominantly barefoot at home (69.2%); these patients exhibited a tendency towards a negative COVID-19 test. A total of 12 patients (19.1%) had positive serology for herpesvirus 6 (IgM or IgG). We conclude that the COVID-19-associated skin lesions we observed were similar to those previously described. Questions as to the underlying mechanisms remain. Interferon, possibly aided by cold exposure, may cause perniosis-like lesions. Other cutaneous manifestations were similar to those caused by other viruses, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 may reactivate or facilitate other viral infections. Full article

There have been increasing reports of skin manifestations in COVID-19 patients. We conducted a systematic review and included manuscripts describing patients with positive RT-PCR coronavirus testing from nasopharyngeal swabs who also developed cutaneous manifestations. A total of 655 patients were selected, with different types of skin rashes: Erythematous maculopapular (n = 250), vascular (n = 146), vesicular (n = 99), urticarial (n = 98), erythema multiforme/generalized pustular figurate erythema/Stevens-Johnson syndrome (n = 22), ocular/periocular (n = 14), polymorphic pattern (n = 9), generalized pruritus (n = 8), Kawasaki disease (n = 5), atypical erythema nodosum (n = 3), and atypical Sweet syndrome (n = 1). Chilblain-like lesions were more frequent in the younger population and were linked to a milder disease course, while fixed livedo racemosa and retiform purpura appeared in older patients and seemed to predict a more severe prognosis. For vesicular rashes, PCR determined the presence of herpesviruses in the vesicle fluid, which raised the possibility of herpesvirus co-infections. The erythema-multiforme-like pattern, generalized pustular figurate erythema and Stevens-Johnson syndrome were most frequently linked to hydroxychloroquine intake. A positive PCR determination of SARS-COV-2 from conjunctival swabs suggest that eye discharge can also be contagious. These cutaneous manifestations may aid in identifying otherwise asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers in some cases or predict a more severe evolution in others. Full article