CT Doctors Research New Coronavirus Syndrome In Children
CONNECTICUT — Physicians at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, a pediatric hospital in Hartford, have co-authored a study about a newly described inflammatory syndrome appearing in children across the nation after a COVID-19 infection or exposure.
The Hartford Courant reports that a total of 10 children in Connecticut were diagnosed with Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. In early May, Gov. Ned Lamont first raised concerns about the rare inflammatory condition in children related to the coronavirus. At the time there were three children being treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital for the illness. Several cases were also reported at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in May.
There is now concern the number of these cases may rise across the country given the latest spikes in infection rates in many states.
In March and April, pediatric intensive care unit physicians at Connecticut Children's and pediatric hospitals across the country began seeing children who presented with fever, shock and signs of severe inflammation. The symptoms were similar to a disease called Kawasaki Disease, but this new group of patients were older, much sicker and were presenting 2-4 weeks after an infection or exposure to the virus.
"Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) has affected the children here in Connecticut with some requiring intensive care. Our expert teams of intensivists, hospitalists, cardiologists, rheumatologists and infectious disease specialists have worked endlessly to create one of the most comprehensive care plans in the nation for children with this syndrome,” said Dr. Robert Parker, pediatric intensivist and a co-author of the study.
In the study, physicians examined the clinical course of 186 children from 26 different states. This is the largest group of children described with this new syndrome and the findings were "startling," according to Parker.
The median age of the children was 8.3 years, 62 percent were male, and 73 percent were previously healthy children. Eighty percent required intensive care, 48 percent require blood pressure support and 20 percent were mechanically ventilated.
Cardiac involvement, gastrointestinal symptoms, rashes involving the skin and mucous membranes and blood disorders were common, with 90 percent of children having three or more organ systems involved. The median duration of hospitalization was seven days, 4 percent of the children required life support with extra corporeal life support, and 2 percent died.
"We have had a total of six cases at Connecticut Children's," Parker told Patch. "We submitted three to the New England Journal article and subsequently have had three more. We have had over a dozen ruled out cases. All of the children have done well and have been discharged from the hospital. Numerous of them were in the PICU however. All will continue to follow up at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center."
Physicians at Connecticut Children's are warning that clinicians in regions of the country where COVID-19 is peaking should be aware of this syndrome in the weeks and months following a rise in cases.
Dr. Chris Carroll, co-author of the study, said: "Although the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have spared children from severe respiratory infections, the new syndrome, albeit rare, is a severe and life-threatening condition that needs attention."
This article originally appeared on the Across Connecticut Patch
