Cutaneous and Pulmonary Manifestations: COVID-19 Virus or Coccidioidomycosis?

COVID-19 viral pandemic continues to manifest itself in the form of various clinical symptoms. Due to concerns of COVID-19 in the setting of high rates of false-negative, there is increased likelihood of anchoring bias. We present a case of a 48-year-old white female who presented with two weeks of dry cough and diffuse pruritic nodular cutaneous rash. Patient was exposed to a colleague who tested positive for COVID 19. Initial visits were conducted virtually and workup was negative for COVID-19. Patient was offered supportive care; however, her symptoms continued to worsen. Subsequent workup was positive for left lower lobe nodular opacity on the chest X-ray, follow up CT chest showed demonstrated a focal 3.4 cm infiltrate in the left lower lobe pleural base posteriorly, blood workup was positive for eosinophil count, elevated liver enzymes and positive coccidioides antibody IgG and IgM. This case highlights the importance of avoiding anchoring bias when creating differential diagnoses and triaging patients.