Cutaneous Manifestations of COVID-19: A Descriptive Analysis of a Southeastern USA Purposive Sample

Abstract

This study describes characteristics and factors associated with cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 encountered across acute inpatient, and critical care units in a large Southeastern USA public hospital from March 1, 2020, through November 01, 2021. A retrospective descriptive analysis was conducted on a purposive sample of patients consulted for non-pressure injury related cutaneous wounds while positive for COVID-19. Patients were predominantly male (64.3%, n = 27), White (66.7%, n = 28) and Black (33.3%). No cutaneous wounds while positive for COVID-19 were observed for Hispanic patients. Patient mortality was 71.4% (n = 30). Gender distribution was proportionate by gender (67% were male) and race (65.5% were White) for deceased patients. Body mass index (BMI) ranged from 15.8 to 61.2 with a mean of 31.9 (SD = 10.76) and median BMI 28.7. Identification of cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 and understanding of the retiform purpura pathophysiology could prove useful in guiding COVID-19 treatment regimens. Investigation into factors preventing complement cascading in those of Hispanic ethnicity may be useful in the prevention of CMC-19 and progression of severity of illness.