Effect of COVID-19 and Face Masks on the Condition of Rosacea – A Retrospective Analysis of 87 Patients

Abstract

Introduction

The pathogenesis of COVID-19 includes systemic immune activation and endothelial dysfunction, which is closely related to the pathogenesis of rosacea. In order to investigate the influence of COVID-19 infection on the condition of rosacea patients, we retrospectively investigated the impact of COVID-19 infection and COVID-19-related masks on rosacea patients.

Methods

We collected the basic information from rosacea patients who had a long-term follow-up at West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Between January 2023 and March 2023, we recruited 87 rosacea patients for this survey.

Results

Our results showed that COVID-19 infection could aggravate the condition of rosacea patients, and the change in the symptoms was not related to fever, temperature, antipyretics use, and vaccination. In addition, we observed a significant association between the type of mask worn by rosacea patients and exacerbation, while the duration of mask usage did not exhibit a similar relationship.

Discussion

Considering the ongoing global utilization of masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the possible recurrence of COVID-19 infection, dermatologists should monitor the condition of rosacea patients infected with COVID-19 and adjust the treatment regimens accordingly.

Keywords:

• SARS-CoV-2
• COVID-19 infection
• rosacea
• mask

Ethics Approval and Consent for Publication

The patients described in this manuscript gave informed consent to the publication of their case details. The research was conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the West China Hospital of Sichuan University (approval number: 2019-248).

Acknowledgments

There are no acknowledgments.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the 1.3.5 Project for Disciplines of Excellence, West China Hospital, Sichuan University (ZYJC21036) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82073473) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82273559).