Dermatological Manifestations Associated With the Severity of COVID-19 Infection: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Observational Study of 144 Patients
August 2022
in “
Piel
”
TLDR Certain skin symptoms in COVID-19 patients may indicate a more severe illness.
A retrospective cross-sectional observational study of 144 patients with COVID-19 revealed various dermatological manifestations, with 42% of patients having acral lesions and 21% having a rash. The study found a significant association between patients with dermatological manifestations with vasculonecrotic damage and a higher likelihood of severe to critical disease. The study emphasizes the importance of early identification of skin symptoms for timely management of COVID-19 complications. The dermatological manifestations were categorized into two groups: those based on a direct viral effect on cells like keratinocytes, and those due to a cytokine storm from altered white blood cells. Younger patients generally had a better prognosis, while gender did not significantly affect outcomes. The study calls for more research on dermatological manifestations of the virus, considering factors like sociodemographics, disease severity, histopathology, virus variants, and inflammatory markers.