CUTANEOUS MANIFESTATIONS RELATED TO COVID-19 IN SOUTH ASIAN YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

COVID-19, a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which is mostly known to cause upper respiratory tract symptoms is recently found to cause cutaneous manifestations in a considerable number of patients.The purpose of the study was to study the features of dermatological manifestations of COVID-19 in young South Asian adults.After the initial survey obtaining the contact details, personal interviews of 53 participants were conducted personally asking them questions about gender, age, the presence of the disease on SARS-CoV-2 in the anamnesis and nature of the course, the presence of nosocomial infection, the use of medications during supervision and the presence of dermatological lesions. Analysis of obtained data was performed to identify the correlation between these factors/incidences of SARS-CoV-2 and different skin manifestation.The results displayed that the most frequent cutaneous manifestation among our 53 participants is maculopapular rash 27% (n=14). This is thought to develop because of high viral exanthem or due to possible drug related interactions through treatment. Others had skin manifestation such as generalized pruritus, petechiae on the feet and vesiculopapular rash. Majority of these rashes were generalized. Interestingly, a young female participant who had tested positive for COVID-19 in August 2020 has been experiencing dermographism since February 2021.Our research data show that coloured populations are less likely to present with cutaneous manifestations possibly because of the melanocyte content in the skin, and its relation to ACE receptor and that cutaneous manifestations can be detected in a specific age group, along with the respiratory problems that arise from infection with this strain and should be considered as a symptom.