Dalia Adukauskienė, Monika Kropaitytė, Edita Mašanauskienė
Abstract
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a viral infection which traditionally presents with fever, dyspnea, cough, malaise, anosmia, and, recently, an increasing number of reports of skin damage related to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Skin lesions may provide suspicion of COVID-19 and a rational basis to test patients for SARS-CoV-2. The direct links between SARS-CoV-2 and cutaneous manifestations remain unclear, but the involvement of the virus in the cascade of events leading to various skin lesions is highly likely. Individuals with otherwise unexplained skin lesions and an epidemiologic or clinical suspicion of SARS-CoV-2 infection should be treated as potential COVID-19 patients regardless of their PCR test results. A frequently negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result should not exclude the diagnosis COVID-19. We need to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the skin manifestations and clear pathogenesis of this disease in order to recognize potential COVID-19 patients in a timely manner and be able to treat the disease appropriately. The purpose of this review was to review the most recent literature on cutaneous manifestations associated with COVID-19, analyze systematic reviews of a large cohort of case reports, and present the most specific skin lesions: erythematous, maculopapular, vesicular, ischemic, urticarial, and pseudochilblains.
Keyword(s): SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, cutaneous manifestations.
DOI: 10.35988/sm-hs.2022.191
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