Treatment of COVID-19 induced chilblains with topical nitroglycerin

SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination and Chilblain-like Lesions: What Do We Know so Far?

INTRODUCTION

The coronavirus pandemic has caused massive damage to global health care and the economy. The vaccination program has been paced around the globe to return as soon as possible to pre-COVID time. Although all the vaccines have been approved after the rigorous clinical and safety trials, some adverse effects have surfaced and are being reported from different parts of the world. One such side effect is chilblain-like lesions following the COVID vaccination. Chilblain lesions, also known as pernio, are an inflammatory condition usually affecting the acral regions of the body. It is mostly reported from cold and damp areas and has multiple causes associated with it.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to review the publicly available data and to provide concise and comprehensive information as well as evaluate the potential pathology, clinical approach, and management of CLL post-vaccination.

METHODS

An extensive literature search over PubMed, Cochrane library, Google Scholar, and Clinicaltrails. gov from inception till 5th October 2021, without any restriction of language was carried out. All the recruited articles were reviewed, and their bibliographies were also screened for any relevant information.

RESULTS

12 studies (10 case reports and 2 case series) were retrieved reporting the incidence of CLL post-vaccination. 8 studies reported incidence in female patients while 5 reported in males, with one study mentioning no gender. Moreover, most of them were either from Europe or the United States of America, except for two cases, reported from Turkey.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the overall incidence of Chilblains following COVID-19 vaccination is low, there is still a strong need to find out the exact mechanism behind this to redefine the safety and administration criteria of the vaccines and to formulate a proper management protocol.

Chilblain-like lesions onset during SARS-CoV-2 infection in a COVID-19-vaccinated adolescent: case report and review of literature

Background

COVID toes or chilblain-like skin lesions have been widely reported during COVID-19 pandemic. Most cases were described in patients with negative microbiological tests for SARS-CoV-2, therefore the possible relationship with SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as with the nowadays broadly available mRNA-based vaccination, has not been fully elucidated. 

Case presentation

We here describe the case of a 14-year-old male who developed chilblain-like skin eruptions during SARS-CoV-2 infection despite two mRNA-based vaccine doses and review the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of chilblain-like lesions as a cutaneous presentation of COVID-19 in children.

Conclusions

Most children and adolescent with COVID toes have a mild or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our report aims to highlight the possible onset of these skin lesions in vaccinated children, if infection has occurred, and the potential use of systemic corticosteroids as a first line treatment. Additional evidence is required to better understand SARS-CoV-2 infection and cutaneous manifestations in children and determine the relationship between chilblain-like lesions and COVID-19 vaccination.

COVID-19 und Hautmanifestationen: Übersicht der aktuellen Literatur im Rückblick auf die bisherige Pandemie

Hintergrund

Die durch das Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ausgelöste anhaltende globale Pandemie manifestiert sich neben bekannten Organsystemen auch an der Haut. In der Literatur wurden verschiedene klinische Muster von Hauterscheinungen mit COVID-19 in Verbindung gebracht. Die Kenntnis der kutanen Manifestationen kann bei der Früherkennung, Risikostratifizierung von Patienten, Diagnose und den therapeutischen Strategien hilfreich sein. In dem vorliegenden Artikel wird der aktuelle Kenntnisstand zu dermatologischen Befunden im Zusammenhang mit COVID-19 unter Berücksichtigung der klinischen Präsentation, aktuellen pathophysiologischen Konzepten und Management zusammengefasst. Zukünftig sollen auch Erkenntnisse aus einem aktuell geführten Register der Universität Harvard gezogen werden können. Derzeit werden hier Hautveränderungen in Assoziation mit COVID-19 gesammelt (https://ilds.org/covid-19/international-dermatology-covid19-registry/).

Ziel der Arbeit

Ziel dieses Übersichtsartikels ist es, die aktuell verfügbare Literatur mit Hinweisen auf Hautveränderungen im Zusammenhang mit COVID-19 zu analysieren, zu strukturieren und die wichtigsten Aspekte zusammenzufassen.

Material und Methoden

Es wurde eine systematische Literaturrecherche in der medizin-wissenschaftlichen Datenbank PubMed und Medline für englischsprachige Originalartikel, Fallserien und -berichte sowie Übersichtsarbeiten unter Verwendung der Suchbegriffe „Covid“, „COVID-19“ oder „SARS-CoV-2“ in Kombination mit „skin“ oder „dermatol“ durchgeführt, welche bis Februar 2021 (Einträge bis zum 28.02.2021) veröffentlicht wurden. Untersucht wurde der Zusammenhang zwischen bestätigten oder vermuteten SARS-CoV-2-Infektionen in Assoziation mit Hautmanifestationen. Eingeschlossen wurden vorwiegend Arbeiten, welche ein möglichst großes Patientenkollektiv, das Erwachsenenalter und einen positiven Corona-Nachweis beinhalteten. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, einen Überblick der am häufigsten beobachteten Hautmanifestationen bei Infektionen mit SARS-CoV‑2 zu geben.

Ergebnisse und Diskussion

Die Zuordnung der Hautmanifestationen im Rahmen einer SARS-CoV-2-Infektion nach klinisch dermatologischen Mustern kann dazu beitragen, Patienten mit erhöhtem Risiko frühzeitig zu identifizieren und adäquat zu behandeln, um einem möglicherweise schwereren Krankheitsverlauf wie er beispielsweise bei der Livedo auftritt, entgegenzuwirken. Die erworbenen Kenntnisse der pathophysiologischen Mechanismen können zu einem verbesserten Management der Erkrankung und Hilfestellung möglicher Gegenmaßnahmen in der Bewältigung der Erkrankung beitragen.

"COVID toes": A meta-analysis of case and observational studies on clinical, histopathological, and laboratory findings

BACKGROUND

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is related to several extrapulmonary disorders; however, little is known about the clinical, laboratory, and histopathological characteristics of pernio-like skin lesions associated with COVID-19 infection.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate and summarize the clinical, laboratory, and histopathological characteristics of pernio-like lesions reported in the literature.

METHODS

We conducted a search of the PubMed, SciELO, and ScienceDirect databases for articles published between January 1, 2020 and November 30, 2020, following the PRISMA recommendations (PROSPERO registration ID: CRD42020225055). The target population was individuals with suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 with pernio-like lesions. Observational studies, research letters, and case/series reports were all eligible for inclusion. Observational studies were evaluated using a random-effects model to calculate the weighted mean prevalence, overall mean, and 95% confidence interval. We evaluated case studies using the chi-square test for dichotomous variables and the Mann-Whitney test for continuous variables.

RESULTS

A total of 187 patients from case reports and 715 patients from 18 observational studies were included. The mean age of patients was 16.6 years (range 14.5-18.8). Feet were affected in 91.4% (87.0-94.4%) of patients in observational studies. The proportion of patients with a positive RT-PCR test was less than 15%. Lesion topography and morphology were associated with age.

CONCLUSION

Lesions mostly occurred in pediatric patients, and the morphological characteristics tended to differ between pediatric and non-pediatric populations. There is a possible multifactorial component in lesion pathophysiology. The non-positivity of laboratory tests does not exclude an association with COVID-19. Pernio-like lesions may be a late manifestation of COVID-19.