Rare, life-threatening condition MIS-C linked to children with COVID-19 – WCVB Boston

Children now account for one in five new COVID-19 patients in the United States, and as pediatric coronavirus infections increase, so do cases of a rare but life-threatening condition.Sarah Fortunato says her daughter, Cece, "just spiked a fever." Cece's temperature was 103, but her mother couldn't knock it down."Kid's get fevers, kids get rashes," Sarah Fortunato said. "You never know what's causing it. She went from being really really red to having completely blue and purple feet and hands and lips. She had a really rapid heart rate, which was possibly the scariest."Cece arrived at the emergency room, tired and hot. Just weeks earlier, Cece and her parents tested positive for COVID-19. Her dad developed mild symptoms, but Cece and her mom had none.Once their quarantine ended, Sarah thought the danger for her family was over. But COVID-19 had triggered something else in Cece called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, also known as MIS-C.Dr. Adrienne Randolph, a critical care specialist at Boston Children's Hospital, is currently collecting data for several federal studies and says MIS-C is definitely an immune response."The hyper-inflammatory response is because, in part, the immune system has never seen this virus before," Randolph said.MIS-C often appears about three to six weeks after a COVID-19 infection and can cause inflammation in a number of body parts, including the heart, lungs, abdomen and brain.Even though it's very rare affecting just three per 10,000 people under age 21 who are exposed to the virus, it appears to be more common in children ages 6 to 12."About 70% end up in the intensive care unit," Randolph said.With pediatric cases surging in the U.S. since August, and no vaccine authorized yet for children under the age of 12, Randolph said she expects more MIS-C cases to emerge."We're watching very carefully and we anticipate if it's going to peak, it might be happening soon," Randolph said.In rare cases, MIS-C can be fatal, but most patients do well with supportive care. While there is little data so far on long-term complications especially involving the heart and brain, Randolph is optimistic there is a long-term solution."It's very likely that vaccination is going to prevent MIS-C because the patient already has antibodies and it's not their first exposure," Randolph said. "And hopefully it will go way and we will see very few to no cases in the future."Pfizer announced yesterday that a smaller dose of its vaccine produces a strong antibody response in children ages 5 to 11, so that solution to MIS-C could arrive very soon.

Children now account for one in five new COVID-19 patients in the United States, and as pediatric coronavirus infections increase, so do cases of a rare but life-threatening condition.

Sarah Fortunato says her daughter, Cece, "just spiked a fever." Cece's temperature was 103, but her mother couldn't knock it down.

"Kid's get fevers, kids get rashes," Sarah Fortunato said. "You never know what's causing it. She went from being really really red to having completely blue and purple feet and hands and lips. She had a really rapid heart rate, which was possibly the scariest."

Cece arrived at the emergency room, tired and hot. Just weeks earlier, Cece and her parents tested positive for COVID-19. Her dad developed mild symptoms, but Cece and her mom had none.

Once their quarantine ended, Sarah thought the danger for her family was over. But COVID-19 had triggered something else in Cece called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, also known as MIS-C.

Dr. Adrienne Randolph, a critical care specialist at Boston Children's Hospital, is currently collecting data for several federal studies and says MIS-C is definitely an immune response.

"The hyper-inflammatory response is because, in part, the immune system has never seen this virus before," Randolph said.

MIS-C often appears about three to six weeks after a COVID-19 infection and can cause inflammation in a number of body parts, including the heart, lungs, abdomen and brain.

Even though it's very rare affecting just three per 10,000 people under age 21 who are exposed to the virus, it appears to be more common in children ages 6 to 12.

"About 70% end up in the intensive care unit," Randolph said.

With pediatric cases surging in the U.S. since August, and no vaccine authorized yet for children under the age of 12, Randolph said she expects more MIS-C cases to emerge.

"We're watching very carefully and we anticipate if it's going to peak, it might be happening soon," Randolph said.

In rare cases, MIS-C can be fatal, but most patients do well with supportive care. While there is little data so far on long-term complications especially involving the heart and brain, Randolph is optimistic there is a long-term solution.

"It's very likely that vaccination is going to prevent MIS-C because the patient already has antibodies and it's not their first exposure," Randolph said. "And hopefully it will go way and we will see very few to no cases in the future."

Pfizer announced yesterday that a smaller dose of its vaccine produces a strong antibody response in children ages 5 to 11, so that solution to MIS-C could arrive very soon.

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Rare, life-threatening condition MIS-C linked to children with COVID-19 - WCVB Boston