Cutaneous Manifestations of Coronavirus Disease 2019: Skin Narratives and Dialogues

Although the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is primarily responsible for respiratory symptoms, an increasing number of cutaneous manifestations have been reported. Cutaneous manifestations are reported by patients following disease recovery.

We sought to document various skin lesions relating to COVID-19 symptoms either before, during, or after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

This was a descriptive study with 273 patients who had cutaneous manifestations after recovering from COVID-19. Each patient provided a thorough medical history and underwent a general physical examination. Following polymerase chain reaction analysis, all participants were confirmed to be COVID-19 patients.

Acral lesions were the most common, accounting for 39% of all cases. An erythematous maculopapular rash was found in 21% of cases and was the second most common after urticaria, with fewer cases of erythema multiform, vesicular rash (9%), vascular livedo reticularis, figurate erythema, and flexural rash documented.

The most common cutaneous changes seen in patients with COVID-19 were pseudo-chilblain acral lesions, which had a good prognosis. Vascular rashes within the spectrum of livedo/purpura/necrosis were seen with severe forms of COVID-19.