Cutaneous manifestations associated with anosmia, ageusia and enteritis in SARS-CoV-2 infection – a possible pattern? Observational study and review of the literature

Link to article at PubMed

Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Apr 19:S1201-9712(21)00370-2. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.04.058. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The cutaneous manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 have been insufficiently covered in the literature.

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 39 patients, admitted in our hospital, all with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, patients that associated during the hospitalization or in the convalescence period various skin manifestations.

RESULTS: We admitted in our hospital from March 23 until September 12, 2020, 39 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients which were identified with intra-infectious rash or with lesions ofcutaneous vasculitis during convalescence. The most common cutaneous manifestation are erythematous and erythematous papular rash. 27 of the 39 documented patients had anosmia (69.2%), 26 patients had ageusia (66.7%), 34 patients presented pneumonia (87.2%), 24 patients had intra-infectious enterocolitis (61.5%). Skin biopsies were rarely performed in these patients. Furthermore, we are reporting two performed biopsies with the histopathological and immunohistochemistry changes of this selected cases of erythematous rash and erythema multiforme-like lesions. Both skin biopsies reveal an early fibrous remodeling of the dermis, suggesting similar changes that occur in the lungs or in other tissues in this disease.

CONCLUSIONS: The correlation of the skin lesions in SARS-CoV-2 infection with anosmia, ageusia and enteritis does not seem to be accidental, but associated with a similar response to ACE2 receptor expression in these tissues.

PMID:33887455 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijid.2021.04.058

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