Cutaneous Manifestations in COVID-19: Report on 31 Cases from Five Countries

The document summarizes a study on 31 COVID-19 patients from five countries, which found a variety of skin manifestations associated with the virus. These manifestations included maculopapular rashes, urticarial lesions, pseudochilblains, petechiae/purpura, distal ischemia and necrosis, livedo racemosa, and other types. The majority of patients had COVID-19 confirmed by qRT-PCR, with some confirmed serologically and others suspected due to contact with confirmed cases. The study highlighted that skin lesions could be the sole clinical manifestation of COVID-19 in some instances and that these manifestations might indicate the activation of pathogenic pathways, inflammatory processes, vascular or systemic complications, or responses to treatments. The study also noted that COVID-19 could exacerbate pre-existing skin conditions and that the skin manifestations could be due to immune responses or systemic sequelae like vasculitis and thrombotic vasculopathy. The authors called for further research into the pathophysiological mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 and appropriate treatment options for specific viral morphological patterns. The study was approved by relevant ethical committees, did not receive funding, and the data are available upon request.