Six children treated in a children’s hospital with COVID-related conditions

LOS ANGELES, CA — Children’s Hospital Los Angeles treated 6 children for a rare, sometimes fatal inflammatory syndrome now believed to be associated with COVID-19, which was announced Friday.

Six children tested positive for the COVID-19 antibody, and all appear to be on the path to recovery. A syndrome known as pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome or MIS-C emerges worldwide shortly after the coronavirus outbreak. The worrying state seems to be that most of the COVID-19s afflict children who have recovered from mild or asymptomatic cases. A small number of children died in this condition, and health authorities in Los Angeles urged pediatricians to ask them to monitor patients for overt symptoms. Children in New York and Germany have died in this condition in the last two weeks.

Pediatric cardiologist and CHLA Kawasaki disease specialist Jackie Szmuszkovicz said that half a dozen children diagnosed in Los Angeles so far ranged in age from 4 months to 8 years and all were successfully’discharged ‘. I said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says experts are working to understand the relationship between MIS-C and coronavirus, and it is unclear whether it will occur in adults. According to the CDC, there is limited information about risk factors, clinical course of the syndrome and treatment.

CHLA officials said that possible symptoms of MIS-C include abdominal pain, pink or red eyes, enlarged lymph nodes on one side of the neck, cracked lips, or red tongue, rash and swollen limbs.
Parents who suspect that their child has MIS-C should immediately contact their pediatrician, but severely ill children should be taken to an emergency room.

According to the hospital, 5 out of 6 MIS-C cases like Kawasaki disease and 1 patient experienced shock symptoms. According to the hospital, all six children were positive for COVID-19 antibodies and were able to identify if someone had previously been infected, but those diagnosed with active COVID-19 positive based on a nasal swab test. No

In April, CHLA saw an increased diagnosis of Kawasaki disease, which was characterized by inflammation of blood vessels and abnormal dilation of arteries that carry blood to the heart. This increase was also reported by doctors in New York and England in late April, necessitating further investigation. Since then, children have been diagnosed with MIS-C throughout the country.

Since April 1, a total of 21 Kawasaki disease patients have been tested for coronavirus in CHLA. The remaining children will continue to be tested for possible future antibodies.

Treatments for Kawasaki disease include IV immunoglobulins, anticoagulants, steroids, and other immune system modulators. Treatment of patients with shock symptoms includes inotropic agents that affect respiratory support and myocardial contraction.

MIS-C, also identified as a childhood inflammatory multisystem syndrome or PIMS, presents with symptoms similar to both conditions and is treated similarly to Kawasaki disease.

“The goal is to reduce inflammation to avoid long-term damage to the child’s body and heart arteries,” says CHLA. “This was achieved by transfusion of plasma and reduced the body’s own immune response, which is causing inflammation.”

Hospital officials said that children with MIS-C probably never showed COVID-19 symptoms and were generally healthy before they developed MIS-C.

CHLA pediatricians share information with pediatricians and other doctors in communities around the world.

“We are in contact with pediatric specialists from centers nationwide and around the world,” Szmuszkovicz said. “We are putting patients in the registry to help define the nature and demographics of the disease, and we are also collaborating on research projects to help define best treatments and practices. I will. “

For more information on MIS-C, please visit the hospital newsroom page on CHLA.org.

City News Service and Patch Staff Paige Ostin contributed to this report.