Diffuse skin rash in tropical areas: Dengue fever or COVID-19?

Abstract

There have been several clinical manifestations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection since 2019, including dermatological signs and symptoms. In this article, the authors report a case of a previously healthy patient with COVID-19 who was mistakenly diagnosed with dengue fever due to the skin rash. By the time the patient's investigation was initiated, Joinville (Santa Catarina, Brazil) had approximately 5,000 confirmed cases of dengue fever and 1,700 cases of COVID-19 in 2020. Thus, the authors emphasize that in endemic regions such as Brazil, the two diseases must be considered until proven otherwise. Finally, the authors warn of the possibility of co-infection with these two viruses in regions that are fighting both epidemics at the same time.

A machine learning model to assess potential misdiagnosed dengue hospitalization

“…Although records with COVID-19 ICD codes were not considered to be classified as potentially dengue-like, it is not possible to distinguish the real contribution of COVID-19 to the misdiagnosis of dengue and vice-versa. Clinically, mild forms of dengue and COVID-19 share similarities, and although severe cases may differ, particularly on cough and dyspnea (more frequent among COVID-19 patients), there have been reports of coinfection and difficulties establishing differential diagnosis [ [45] , [46] , [47] ]. Since there was an increased awareness and tendency to over diagnose COVID-19, it is also possible that dengue cases were misdiagnosed as COVID-19.…”

Prevalência das manifestações dermatológicas associadas ao COVID-19

“…Em algumas regiões endêmicas do Brasil para a Dengue deve-se considerar a possibilidade de co-infecção com a COVID-19 até que se prove o contrário. (Bandeira et al, 2021). A COVID-19 é uma doença nova e por isso ainda é pouco conhecida, principalmente no campo da dermatologia.…”

Panorama epidemiológico e impacto da pandemia de COVID-19 nas arboviroses dengue e chikungunya

“…Esse relato inaugural foi seguido por diversas outras ocorrências, indicando a crescente prevalência da coinfecção. Em outro caso notável, Bandeira et al (2021) apresentaram um paciente previamente saudável com COVID-19, erroneamente diagnosticado com dengue devido a uma erupção cutânea, um sintoma compartilhado por ambas as doenças.…”

“…Sendo essencial considerar ambas as doenças em regiões propensas, para orientar a conduta clínica adequada (BICUDO et al, 2020;BANDEIRA et al, 2021).…”