Children hospitalized with COVID 19 or MIS C who have lingering complications

As part of the national Overcoming COVID-19 study, investigators led by Adrienne Randolph, of Boston Children's surveyed family caregivers of patients under age 21 who were hospitalized with COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)

Of these children and youth, roughly 40 percent were hospitalized with acute COVID-19 and roughly 60 percent with MIS-C. Fifty percent and 86 percent, respectively, were admitted to the intensive care unit.

At two- to four-month follow up, 27 percent of patients with acute COVID-19 and 30 percent of those with MIS-C had persistent symptoms, activity impairment, or both.

Of the children and adolescents with lingering symptoms, the most common symptoms were: fatigue or weakness, shortness of breath, cough, headache, muscle and body aches, fever.

Activity impairment was somewhat more common after MIS-C than after acute COVID-19. Three factors predicted an increased risk for a prolonged recovery or activity impairment:

more organ system involvement in patients with acute COVID-19 underlying respiratory conditions (usually asthma) in patients with MIS-C obesity in patients with MIS-C.

"Now that vaccines are available, I strongly recommend that children and adolescents get vaccinated," lead rsearcher Adrienne Randolph says. "We know that patients can be re-infected even if they've had COVID-19, and we previously showed that vaccination can prevent MIS-C and severe COVID-19."

Ref:

Adrienne Randolph et. al, PEDIATRICS, 12-AUG-2022