Dermatologic manifestations of patients with severe and non-severe COVID-19 infection: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Since the emergence of COVID-19 in late 2019, multiple concerns have been raised regarding the unknown nature of the disease, including dermatologic complications. In this study, we discussed dermatologic manifestations of patients with COVID-19 infection who visited our clinic. Methods: Eighty- six patients were involved based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria (50 female and 36 male). All patients with definite diagnosis of COVID-19 who were referred to our dermatologic clinic were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Only lesions which occurred 1 week prior to or 3 months after first COVID-19 symptoms were included. The photographs of all lesions were independently reviewed by four experienced dermatologists and an infectious disease specialist to reach the objectives stated above. Qualitative data presented as frequency (%) and compared using chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test, and quantitative data presented as mean±SD or median (IQR) based on normality, with P value≤0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: Eighty- six patients were enrolled in the study (mean±SD age=36.95±17.78). Eighteen specific types of dermatologic complications were seen. The most common lesions included maculopapular rash and scalp hair loss. The only lesions with a statistically significant difference regarding COVID-19 symptom onset time were maculopapular rash, telogen effluvium, and papular urticaria. The only lesions with statistically significant difference regarding COVID-19 severity were maculopapular rash, telogen effluvium, and urticaria. Conclusion: Our study revealed that a wide range of skin lesions may occur in patients with COVID-19. We found a statistically significant relation between disease severity and certain dermatologic manifestations.