A study of cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19: An Indian perspective

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has been shown to involve multiple-organ systems during disease process. Dermatologists have also reported various findings in patients of COVID-19 and have pointed out few cutaneous manifestations that are novel and are probably related to infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, currently very limited data are available regarding various aspects of cutaneous involvement. Aims: This study aimed to investigate various aspects of cutaneous involvement in COVID-19. Methods: Institutional ethics committee approval was secured before conducting a study. Patients with at least one positive nasopharyngeal swab result for SARS-CoV-2 carried out by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were enrolled. After informed consent subjects were interviewed and monitored for appearance of any cutaneous signs and symptoms. Those with relevant findings were evaluated for characteristics of cutaneous findings. Data of all patients were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 303 patients were enrolled for the study. Approximately 1.98% of patients developed cutaneous manifestations. Four types of skin lesions were observed in study subjects: urticarial lesions, maculopapular rash, acro-ischemia, and glossitis. Limitations: Relatively less number of patients, collection of data from single center, and absence of histopathological confirmation were limitations of the study. Conclusion: COVID-19 disease process has a cutaneous component; however, incidence of cutaneous findings remains low. Urticaria was the most common type of cutaneous finding, whereas acro-ischemia was the most characteristic one.