Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (695 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Diseases in which skin eruptions or rashes are a prominent manifestation. Classically, six such diseases were described with similar rashes; they were numbered in the order in which they were reported. Only the fourth (Duke's disease), fifth (erythema infectiosum), and sixth (exanthema subitum) numeric designations survive as occasional synonyms in current terminology.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Exanthem; Rash; Skin Rash; Rash, Skin.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Skin Diseases
- Narrower topics
- Exanthema Subitum
- See also
- Wissler's Syndrome
Related concepts
- Erythema Infectiosum
- Exanthema Subitum
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 10,246 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Exanthema” (counts retrieved 2026-11-04). 2,725 of them (26.6%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 3,186 records.
Reviews account for 1,040 records (10.2%) and meta-analyses for 73. Randomized controlled trials number 188 (1.8%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 2,360 |
| 2000-2009 | 1,975 |
| 2010-2019 | 3,186 |
| 2020 onward | 2,725 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 1,040 | 10.2% |
| Meta-analyses | 73 | 0.7% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 188 | 1.8% |
Method: PubMed query "Exanthema"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-11-04.
Reading the evidence in bones, joints, muscles and skin
Joint, bone, muscle and skin conditions are often judged by pain scores, function questionnaires, imaging or photographs, and symptoms can fluctuate, so placebo response and natural improvement matter. Imaging changes are common in people without symptoms. Nothing on this page is advice about treatment. Check how outcomes were measured, whether the comparison group received a placebo or usual care, and how long the benefit lasted.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultrasensitive single-step CRISPR detection of monkeypox virus in minutes with a vest-pocket diagnostic device | 2024 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 78 | cc by PMID 38627378 · DOI · PMC11021474 |
| Clinical characterization and placental pathology of mpox infection in hospitalized patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | 2023 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 66 | cc0 PMID 37079637 · DOI · PMC10153724 |
| The Spectrum of Neurological Manifestations of Varicella-Zoster Virus Reactivation | 2023 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 60 | cc by PMID 37632006 · DOI · PMC10457770 |
Ultrasensitive single-step CRISPR detection of monkeypox virus in minutes with a vest-pocket diagnostic device [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The emerging monkeypox virus (MPXV) has raised global health concern, thereby highlighting the need for rapid, sensitive, and easy-to-use diagnostics.
- Closing excerpt
- SCOPE achieves a single-molecular level sensitivity in minutes with a simplified procedure performed on a miniaturized wireless device, which is expected to spur substantial progress to enable the practice application of CRISPR-based diagnostics techniques in a point-of-care setting.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (184 words)
The emerging monkeypox virus (MPXV) has raised global health concern, thereby highlighting the need for rapid, sensitive, and easy-to-use diagnostics. Here, we develop a single-step CRISPR-based diagnostic platform, termed SCOPE (Streamlined CRISPR On Pod Evaluation platform), for field-deployable ultrasensitive detection of MPXV in resource-limited settings. The viral nucleic acids are rapidly released from the rash fluid swab, oral swab, saliva, and urine samples in 2 min via a streamlined viral lysis protocol, followed by a 10-min single-step recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA)-CRISPR/Cas13a reaction. A pod-shaped vest-pocket analysis device achieves the whole process for reaction execution, signal acquisition, and result interpretation. SCOPE can detect as low as 0.5 copies/µL (2.5 copies/reaction) of MPXV within 15 min from the sample input to the answer. We validate the developed assay on 102 clinical samples from male patients / volunteers, and the testing results are 100% concordant with the real-time PCR. SCOPE achieves a single-molecular level sensitivity in minutes with a simplified procedure performed on a miniaturized wireless device, which is expected to spur substantial progress to enable the practice application of CRISPR-based diagnostics techniques in a point-of-care setting.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 38627378 · DOI · PMC11021474
Clinical characterization and placental pathology of mpox infection in hospitalized patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- We describe the results of a prospective observational study of the clinical natural history of human monkeypox (mpox) virus (MPXV) infections at the remote L'Hopital General de Reference de Kole (Kole hospital), the rainforest of the Congo River basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from March 2007 until August 2011.
- Closing excerpt
- Patients with fatal disease had higher maximum geometric mean values than survivors for the following variables, respectively: viral DNA in blood (DNAemia); maximum lesion count; day of admission mean AST and ALT.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (342 words)
We describe the results of a prospective observational study of the clinical natural history of human monkeypox (mpox) virus (MPXV) infections at the remote L'Hopital General de Reference de Kole (Kole hospital), the rainforest of the Congo River basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from March 2007 until August 2011. The research was conducted jointly by the Institute National de Recherche Biomedical (INRB) and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). The Kole hospital was one of the two previous WHO Mpox study sites (1981-1986). The hospital is staffed by a Spanish Order of Catholic Nuns from La Congregation Des Soeurs Missionnaires Du Christ Jesus including two Spanish physicians, who were members of the Order as well, were part of the WHO study on human mpox. Of 244 patients admitted with a clinical diagnosis of MPXV infection, 216 were positive in both the Pan-Orthopox and MPXV specific PCR. The cardinal observations of these 216 patients are summarized in this report. There were three deaths (3/216) among these hospitalized patients; fetal death occurred in 3 of 4 patients who were pregnant at admission, with the placenta of one fetus demonstrating prominent MPXV infection of the chorionic villi. The most common complaints were rash (96.8%), malaise (85.2%), sore throat (78.2%), and lymphadenopathy/adenopathy (57.4%). The most common physical exam findings were mpox rash (99.5%) and lymphadenopathy (98.6%). The single patient without the classic mpox rash had been previously vaccinated against smallpox. Age group of less than 5 years had the highest lesion count. Primary household cases tended to have higher lesion counts than secondary or later same household cases. Of the 216 patients, 200 were tested for IgM & IgG antibodies (Abs) to Orthopoxviruses. All 200 patients had anti-orthopoxvirus IgG Abs; whereas 189/200 were positive for IgM. Patients with hypoalbuminemia had a high risk of severe disease. Patients with fatal disease had higher maximum geometric mean values than survivors for the following variables, respectively: viral DNA in blood (DNAemia); maximum lesion count; day of admission mean AST and ALT.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc0 licence; © the authors. PMID 37079637 · DOI · PMC10153724
The Spectrum of Neurological Manifestations of Varicella-Zoster Virus Reactivation [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV) is a pathogenic human alpha herpes virus that causes varicella (chicken pox) as a primary infection and, following a variable period of latency in different ganglionic neurons, it reactivates to produce herpes zoster (shingles).
- Closing excerpt
- The field is complicated by the relatively few cases of neurological complications described and by the issue of causation when a neurological condition is not manifest at the same time as the zoster rash.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (169 words)
Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV) is a pathogenic human alpha herpes virus that causes varicella (chicken pox) as a primary infection and, following a variable period of latency in different ganglionic neurons, it reactivates to produce herpes zoster (shingles). The focus of this review is on the wide spectrum of the possible neurological manifestations of VZV reactivation. While the most frequent reactivation syndrome is herpes zoster, this may be followed by the serious and painful post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) and by many other neurological conditions. Prominent among these conditions is a VZV vasculopathy, but the role of VZV in causing giant cell arteritis (GCA) is currently controversial. VZV reactivation can also cause segmental motor weakness, myelitis, cranial nerve syndromes, Guillain-Barre syndrome, meningoencephalitis, and zoster sine herpete, where a neurological syndrome occurs in the absence of the zoster rash. The field is complicated by the relatively few cases of neurological complications described and by the issue of causation when a neurological condition is not manifest at the same time as the zoster rash.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 37632006 · DOI · PMC10457770
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Monkeypox [4]
- Research article Mycoplasma pneumoniae-induced rash and mucositis as a syndrome distinct from Stevens-Johnson syndrome and erythema multiforme: a systematic review [5]
- Research article A review of the monkeypox virus and a recent outbreak of skin rash disease in Nigeria [6]
- Research article Reactive infectious mucocutaneous eruption: Mycoplasma pneumoniae-induced rash and mucositis and other parainfectious eruptions [7]
- Research article Acute Generalized Exanthematous Pustulosis: Clinical Features, Differential Diagnosis, and Management [8]
- Research article Contemporary infectious exanthems: an update [9]
References
- Wang Y, Chen H, Lin K, Han Y, Gu Z, Wei H, et al.. Ultrasensitive single-step CRISPR detection of monkeypox virus in minutes with a vest-pocket diagnostic device. . 2024. PMID 38627378 · DOI · PMC11021474
- Pittman PR, Martin JW, Kingebeni PM, Tamfum JM, Mwema G, Wan Q, et al.. Clinical characterization and placental pathology of mpox infection in hospitalized patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. . 2023. PMID 37079637 · DOI · PMC10153724
- Kennedy PGE. The Spectrum of Neurological Manifestations of Varicella-Zoster Virus Reactivation. . 2023. PMID 37632006 · DOI · PMC10457770
- Mitjà O, Ogoina D, Titanji BK, Galvan C, Muyembe JJ, Marks M, et al.. Monkeypox. Lancet. 2023. PMID 36403582 · DOI · PMC9671644
- Canavan TN, Mathes EF, Frieden I, Shinkai K. Mycoplasma pneumoniae-induced rash and mucositis as a syndrome distinct from Stevens-Johnson syndrome and erythema multiforme: a systematic review. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2015. PMID 25592340 · DOI
- Kabuga AI, El Zowalaty ME. A review of the monkeypox virus and a recent outbreak of skin rash disease in Nigeria. J Med Virol. 2019. PMID 30357851 · DOI
- Ramien ML. Reactive infectious mucocutaneous eruption: Mycoplasma pneumoniae-induced rash and mucositis and other parainfectious eruptions. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2021. PMID 32918499 · DOI
- Parisi R, Shah H, Navarini AA, Muehleisen B, Ziv M, Shear NH, et al.. Acute Generalized Exanthematous Pustulosis: Clinical Features, Differential Diagnosis, and Management. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2023. PMID 37156992 · DOI · PMC10166469
- Drago F, Ciccarese G, Gasparini G, Cogorno L, Javor S, Toniolo A, et al.. Contemporary infectious exanthems: an update. Future Microbiol. 2017. PMID 27838923 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
See how EvidenceLib is built. Spotted an error? Email support@evidencehelix.com.
Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.