Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), which develops in some children after suffering a coronavirus infection, can damage the heart to such an extent that children will need lifelong medical supervision and monitoring. This conclusion was reached by a joint group of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston (USA).
MIS-C resembles Kawasaki disease, but according to recent reports, this syndrome has some differences and is always a consequence of COVID. Moreover, MIS-C can appear suddenly in apparently completely healthy children who had been asymptomatic with COVID 3-4 weeks ago so that the parents did not even suspect that the child was infected with the coronavirus.
This is a new childhood disease that is associated with SARS-CoV-2. Children may not show the classic symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, loss of smell) before getting MIS-C, which is scary. This inflammatory syndrome can be fatal because it affects multiple organs at once. The heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tract and nervous system – it has so many different manifestations that it was difficult for doctors to understand at first [что это одно и то же заболевание], – said Dr. Alvaro Moreira, one of the authors of the study.
Scientists published the results of their work in a peer-reviewed scientific journal The Lancet… During the study, experts studied 662 cases of MIS-C registered worldwide between January 1 and July 25, 2020. Most of the children are faced with serious damage to the cardiovascular system. Most often, this manifested itself in the form of expansion of the coronary blood vessels, a decrease in myocardial contractility, and in 10% of cases – an aneurysm of the coronary artery.
Children with aneurysms are at greatest risk in the future. According to experts, they will need serious observation in order to understand whether this condition improves or whether the disease will have to be reckoned with for the rest of their lives.
The only reassuring thing is that, unlike COVID, doctors know how to effectively treat multisystem inflammatory syndrome through the experience of countering Kavaski disease with immunoglobulin and glucocorticosteroids. It is important that stabilization of the condition is started as early as possible, therefore, if symptoms of MIS-C appear (diarrhea, rash, conjunctivitis, edema, swollen lymph nodes), you should immediately consult a doctor.
Earlier, “Reedus” said that children spread coronavirus six times weaker than adults.
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