Premium
COVID ‐19 and cutaneous manifestations: A review of the published literature
Author(s) -
Martora Fabrizio,
Villani Alessia,
Fabbrocini Gabriella,
Battista Teresa
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
journal of cosmetic dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.626
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1473-2165
pISSN - 1473-2130
DOI - 10.1111/jocd.15477
Subject(s) - medicine , dermatology , erythema multiforme , purpura (gastropod) , maculopapular rash , pityriasis rosea , covid-19 , pandemic , pathology , rash , disease , ecology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , biology
Background COVID‐19 is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. COVID‐19 outbreak, which caused thousands of deaths, has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. Aim Skin manifestations related to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection can be divided mainly into five groups: chilblainlike lesions (CBLLs), maculopapular eruptions, urticarial eruptions, vesicular eruptions, and livedo or necrosis. Other skin findings reported are erythema multiforme (EM)‐like lesions and skin findings associated with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS‐C) and rarely with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS‐A). Other manifestations such as pityriasis rosea or shingles are also reported. Methods A total of 60 articles including reviews, studies and case reports were selected for the evaluation in this review. Results The skin manifestations associated with COVID‐19 infection are numerous and can vary widely. The major dermatological patterns of COVID‐19 can be classified as inflammatory reactions (maculopapular/morbilliform, urticarial and vesicular rashes), or lesions of vascular origin (chilblain like rashes, petechiae/purpura, and livedo acemose‐like pattern) Conclusion We believe that the dermatologist could play an important role in the response to the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic through early recognition of skin lesions suggestive of COVID‐19, particularly in paucisymptomatic infections where this recognition could direct toward an early diagnosis of infection that certainly leads to a better prognosis.