ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to describe the diagnosis and management of bilateral blepharoconjunctivitis and erythema multiforme (EM)-like illness in an otherwise healthy young man who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2. METHODS: This is a case report of a 27 year-old man with a positive result for SARS-CoV-2 testing who presented with fever, eye redness, oral ulcerations, cough, sore throat, and progressive rash suspicious for EM-like illness. RESULTS: A SARS-CoV-2-positive patient presented to the emergency room with a progressing skin rash, bilateral conjunctivitis, and oropharyngeal mucosal ulcers. On initial ophthalmic examination, visual acuity was 20/25 both eyes (OU), and slit lamp examination demonstrated erythema and ulceration of the eyelid margins with fluorescein uptake at the mucocutaneous junction OU. The patient was admitted for observation and supportive treatment. During and after his hospital stay, he was treated with systemic and topical steroids, topical cyclosporine ophthalmic drops, erythromycin ophthalmic ointment, and artificial tears. At his 1-week follow-up visit after hospital discharge, the patient had complete resolution of his skin findings and improvement of his ocular and oral mucosal findings. Laboratory workup and imaging studies searching for other potential autoimmune and infectious etiologies showed negative results. CONCLUSIONS: Topical antiinflammatory drops, artificial tears, erythromycin ointment, and systemic steroids were an effective treatment for this bilateral blepharoconjunctivitis and EM-like presentation of SARS-CoV-2.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Conjunctivitis , Erythema Multiforme , Exanthema , Male , Humans , Adult , SARS-CoV-2 , Lubricant Eye Drops , COVID-19 Testing , Ointments , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/diagnosis , Erythema Multiforme/diagnosis , Erythema Multiforme/drug therapy , Erythema Multiforme/etiology , Conjunctivitis/diagnosis , Conjunctivitis/drug therapy , Conjunctivitis/etiology , ErythromycinABSTRACT
Cutaneous manifestations of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are diverse and may be the only clinical evidence of infection, particularly in children [1]. The authors report a 10-year-old girl with erythematous vesicular papules and targetoid lesions of the extremities two weeks after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus two (SARS-COV-2) infection. Biopsy depicted classic erythema multiforme (EM) and serology confirmed positive COVID-19 antibodies. This report demonstrates one of the first reported pediatric cases of typical clinical and histopathologic EM in relation to confirmed COVID-19.