Covid-19 skin manifestations: an update

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or COVID-19 is a multisystemic disease manifesting mainly with dry cough, fever, and pneumonia and can present with a myriad of cutaneous manifestations. This chapter will review SARS-CoV-2 associated cutaneous findings, including incidence and relevance to the pediatric population.

The most commonly reported cutaneous findings described for COVID-19 in adults and children were chilblains-like lesions, followed by maculopapular eruption, urticarial lesions, vesicular lesions, and livedoid lesions. Children can also present with erythema multiforme (EM)-like lesions and skin findings associated with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

There are numerous cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19, some of which are unique to children such as EM-like lesions and skin findings for MIS-C. Livedoid lesions do not commonly occur in the pediatric population. In mild cases, supportive care is indicated, whereas severe cases warrant intensive care and hospitalization.