Clinical and histological characterization of vesicular COVID‐19 rashes: a prospective study in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Vesicular skin rashes have been associated to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19), but there is little information about this cutaneous manifestation. We designed a prospective observational study of patients diagnosed with COVID‐19 and vesicular lesions. Clinical characterization of skin findings was conducted by dermatologists. When possible, histological analysis and detection of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) in the content of the vesicles was performed. A total of 24 patients were included. A disseminated pattern was found in 18 patients (75%), and a localized pattern was found in 6 patients (25%). The median duration of the skin rash was of 10 days. Out of all, 19 patients (79.2%) presented the skin rash after the onset of COVID‐19 symptoms. Histologic examination in two patients was consistent with viral infection, SARS‐CoV‐2 was not detected in four patients. This monocentric study shows the clinical characteristics of vesicular skin rashes in COVID‐19 patients.