Vascular skin symptoms in COVID-19: a french observational study
Main result
Description of 14 cases of COVID-19 patients with vascular dermatological lesions. These symptoms started a few days after the general clinical signs of the infection and up to 21 days. Inflammatory lesions were reported in 50% of these patients with 4 rash, 2 chickenpox-like vesicles, and cold urticaria. The other 50% were vascular lesions including a purplish macule with porcelain appearance, a livedo, non-necrotic purpura, necrotic purpura, frostbite with Raynaud's syndrome, frostbite alone and a cherry-colored eruptive angioma.
In addition, 40 patients presented with frostbite but were negative for COVID-19 or could not be tested.
The pathophysiology is still uncertain but could be linked to immune dysregulation, vasculitis, microvessel thrombosis, or neoangiogenesis.
Takeaways
Dermatological and vascular lesions are possible in the context of a COVID-19 infection with, in particular, rashes, purpuras, or frostbites. They appear after the onset of general symptoms of the infection and up to potentially 21 days later.
However, further studies are necessary to determine the prevalence of these symptoms, their impact on the prognosis and their pathophysiological origin.
Strength of evidence Weak
- Based on the description of only 14 cases
- Impossible to conclude on the prevalence of these lesions
- Declarative data
- No information on the clinical characteristics of the patients or the outcomes
Objectives
Method
French national retrospective observational study carried out by private dermatologists and in 2 Parisian hospitals at the end of March beginning of April.
Collection of declarative data via in the society of dermatology and verification of the positivity of the infection by PCR on nasopharyngeal samples.
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