Herpes zoster as a potential complication of coronavirus disease 2019
Adrian Pona, Rahim Jiwani, Felix Afriyie, J. Labbé, Paul Cook, Yuxuan Mao
Abstract
Herpes zoster as a potential complication of coronavirus disease 2019 Dear Editor, Although coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) primarily manifests pulmonary symptoms, providers are recognizing extrapulmonary symptoms including cutaneous manifestations. Cutaneous manifestations in COVID-19 patients include acroischemic, chilblain-like eruption, petechiae and purpura, vesicles, urticaria, and erythematous maculopapules. 1 Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which reactivates and spreads from the dorsal root ganglia to its respective dermatome. Patients at risk of HZ include elders and immunocompromised hosts. Although COVID-19 is known to affect the immune system and may increase the risk of HZ, limited reports confirm an association between HZ and COVID-19. 2,3 Here, we present a 70-year-old COVID-19 patient complicated by HZ.