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Skin Manifestations in COVID-19 Patients: Are They Indicators for Disease Severity? A Systematic Review

Jamshidi P, Hajikhani B, Mirsaeidi M, Vahidnezhad H, Dadashi M, Nasiri MJ

Frontiers in medicine, 2021

1,847 participants · 41 citations

Abstract

Introduction: Until now, there are several reports on cutaneous manifestations in COVID-19 patients. However, the link between skin manifestations and the severity of the disease remains debatable. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the temporal relationship between different types of skin lesions and the severity of COVID-19. Methods: A systematic search was conducted for relevant studies published between January and July 2020 using Pubmed/Medline, Embase, and Web of knowledge. The following keywords were used: "SARS-CoV-2" or "COVID-19" or "new coronavirus" or "Wuhan Coronavirus" or "coronavirus disease 2019" and "skin disease" or "skin manifestation" or "cutaneous manifestation." Results: Out of 381 articles, 47 meet the inclusion criteria and a total of 1,847 patients with confirmed COVID-19 were examined. The overall frequency of cutaneous manifestations in COVID-19 patients was 5.95%. The maculopapular rash was the main reported skin involvement (37.3%) commonly occurred in middle-aged females with intermediate severity of the disease. Forty-eight percentage of the patients had a mild, 32% a moderate, and 20% a severe COVID-19 disease. The mild disease was mainly correlated with chilblain-like and urticaria-like lesions and patients with vascular lesions experienced a more severe disease. Seventy-two percentage of patients with chilblain-like lesions improved without any medication. The overall mortality rate was 4.5%. Patients with vascular lesions had the…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a systematic review, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 1,847 participants or records.

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