Caution in the Time of Rashes and COVID-19
July 2020
in “
Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology
”
Studysummary This article discusses the challenges of attributing skin manifestations to COVID-19, emphasizing the need for more studies to differentiate virus-specific lesions from nonspecific ones, and reports no new clinical results.
Our plain-language summary. Not medical advice or a treatment recommendation. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before changing treatment. Full disclaimer
The document discusses the cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19, noting that while dermatologists have identified a range of skin symptoms associated with the virus, it's difficult to definitively conclude that these are due to SARS-CoV-2. The most commonly reported skin manifestation, pernio-like lesions (or "COVID-toes"), often occur in patients who test negative for the virus. Other reported skin manifestations include morbilliform eruption, urticaria, petechiae, retiform purpura, periorbital erythema, vesicular, livedo reticularis, digitate papulosquamous, erythema multiforme, pernio-like and androgenic alopecia. The authors recommend caution in attributing these skin findings specifically to SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that further studies and widespread testing are needed to distinguish between virus-specific and non-specific skin manifestations. They also highlight the importance of the COVID-19 Dermatology Registry in identifying which skin manifestations are most suggestive of COVID-19.
