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A new analysis suggests that the rare inflammatory condition increasingly seen in young children is in fact linked to the new coronavirus.
Researchers in Lombardy, Italy, the epicenter of the country’s outbreak, analyzed 10 pediatric cases with symptoms such as a full-body rash and swelling of the hands and feet.
In comparison, in the past five years, only 19 children entered the emergency room with symptoms that resembled Kawasaki disease.
The team says that admissions for these symptoms in the past two months is a 30-fold increase from what you normally see.
Additionally, 80 percent of children admitted to the hospital this year tested positive for antibodies to the coronavirus, and 60 percent had more serious complications, such as heart problems.
In a new study, researchers found that 19 children were admitted to a hospital in Lombardy, Italy, with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease compared to 10 children between February 18, 2020 and April 20, 2020 (above)
Antibody test results showed that 80% of the 10 children tested positive for coronavirus bodies and 60% had more serious complications, such as heart problems. Photo: Juliet Daly, 12, of Louisiana (left) and Jayden Hardowar, eight, of New York (right), both were admitted to hospital after experiencing the syndrome
The researchers say this is evidence that the mysterious condition is related to COVID-19 and that it should be classified as a ‘Kawasaki-like disease’. Pictured: Nine-year-old Bobby Dean lies in a hospital bed in Rochester, New York, after experiencing the syndrome.
Cases of these rare inflammatory diseases in children were first reported in Britain, Italy, and Spain.
The syndrome resembles Kawasaki disease, a condition that causes inflammation in the walls of blood vessels and primarily affects children under the age of five.
It is not known what triggers the condition, but it is believed to be an overreaction of the immune system to an infection.
Called “Pediatric Multisystemic Inflammatory Syndrome Potentially Associated With COVID-19,” the new disorder can attack multiple organs, damage heart function and weaken the heart arteries.
In the province of Bergamo, where Lombardy is located, only 19 children have been diagnosed with Kawasaki disease in the past five years.
However, between February 18 and April 20 of this year, there were at least 10 cases in children with the emerging syndrome, suggesting an increase of up to 30 times.
“We noticed an increase in the number of children being referred to our hospital with an inflammatory condition similar to Kawasaki disease at the time that the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak was occurring in our region,” said the co-author, Dr. Lucio Verdoni, a pediatric rheumatologist at the Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital in Bergamo, Italy.
Although this complication is still very rare, our study provides more evidence on how the virus may be affecting children.
‘Parents should follow local medical advice and seek medical attention immediately if their child is not feeling well. Most children will make a full recovery if they receive adequate hospital care. ”
For the study, published in The Lancet, the team examined 29 children admitted to the hospital’s pediatric unit with symptoms of Kawasaki disease from January 1, 2015 to April 20, 2020.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, doctors treated a case of Kawasaki disease approximately every three months.
The researchers say the increase from 19 children for five years (2015 to 2019) to 10 children for two months (February 2020 to April 2020) was not due to an increase in hospital admissions.
Called “Pediatric Multisystemic Inflammatory Syndrome Potentially Associated With COVID-19,” the new disorder can attack multiple organs, damage heart function and weaken the heart arteries. Photo: Josie Paskvan, 9, of Detroit, who was hospitalized with the syndrome.
Children who entered the hospital with symptoms after February 18 were generally older than the children of the previous five years, seven and a half years compared to three years.
They also had more severe symptoms, such as cardiac complications in 60 percent and signs of toxic shock syndrome in 50 percent.
Patients both before and after the coronavirus outbreak were treated with immunoglobulin, but 80 percent of children during the outbreak also required steroids, compared to 16 percent before the pandemic.
Most importantly, of those 10 children, eight of those tested positive for COVID-19.
The authors demonstrate that there is a link between the virus and the inflammatory condition and that it should be classified as ‘Kawasaki-like disease’.
“We are beginning to see case reports of children presenting to the hospital with signs of Kawasaki disease in other areas affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including New York and south-east England,” said the lead author, the Dr. Lorezno D’Antiga, pediatrician. at Papa Giovanni
“Our study provides the first clear evidence of a link between SARS-CoV-2 infection and this inflammatory condition, and we hope that it will help doctors around the world try to familiarize ourselves with this unknown virus.”
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday (pictured) that 15 states in total are investigating cases of the rare inflammatory condition
The study comes immediately after 15 US states. USA They are investigating cases of a rare inflammatory syndrome that primarily affects children and is believed to be linked to the new coronavirus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.
Cuomo told reporters at a press conference that state health officials are investigating 102 cases, including dozens of hospitalizations.
So far, three children in New York have died from the condition, including a five-year-old boy, a seven-year-old boy and an 18-year-old woman.
Now 14 other states, including California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, have reported cases.
