Telogen Effluvium After SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Series of Cases and Possible Pathogenetic Mechanisms

The document reports on a study of 14 cases where patients experienced telogen effluvium (TE), a temporary form of hair loss, within 1 to 3 months after being infected with SARS-CoV-2, which is earlier than the typical 3-4 months for classic TE. The median duration of hair loss was 5 months, with clinical evaluations showing no variations from classic TE. The authors propose that the early onset of TE could be due to direct viral damage or the intense release of pro-inflammatory cytokines caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection, and they also consider antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) as a potential mechanism. The study concludes that TE could be a sequela of COVID-19 and highlights the need for further research with a larger sample size to understand the condition better. The research was conducted with informed consent, no conflicts of interest, and no external funding.