Health News – A study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh reveals that hospitalized children who develop MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome) are more susceptible to neurological symptoms than those who are simply infected by SARS-CoV-2. Further research is undertaken to determine the lasting impact of acute SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C (with or without neurologic manifestations) on children’s health and quality of life.
A study reveals that hospitalized children who develop MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome) after recovery from the Covid virus are more susceptible to neurological symptoms than their peers who are simply infected. The central concern of the study is whether neurological manifestations are similar or different in pediatric patients, depending on which of these two conditions they have.
The study recruited 30 pediatric critical care centers around the world and studied 1493 hospitalized children. 1278 children or 86% were diagnosed with acute SARS-CoV-2, while 215 children or 14% were diagnosed with MIS-C. The most common neurologic manifestations linked with acute COVID-19, in children, were headache, acute encephalopathy (altered mental status), and seizures. Their MIS-C symptoms, appearing several weeks after clearing the virus, entailed fever, inflammation, and organ dysfunction. In youths with MIS-C, most had headache, acute encephalopathy, and dizziness. Rarer symptoms of both conditions included loss of smell, vision impairment, stroke and psychosis.
The findings, published in Pediatric Neurology, show that kids with MIS-C are more susceptible to two or more neurological manifestations compared to those with acute SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, children with MIS-C are more likely to require intensive care than their peers who didn’t experience such symptoms. The researchers also claim that mortality rates are low for both acute SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C.
The study seeks to understand further how COVID-19 affects the brain and nervous system in the pediatric population. The researchers have launched a recent follow-up study to determine whether acute SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C (with or without neurologic manifestations) have lasting effects on children’s health and quality of life after discharge from hospital. It is declared that the long-term goal of the study is to build an exhaustive database that tracks neurological manifestations in children who have experienced hospitalization.
“Some countries have excellent databases that allow them to easily track and compare children who are hospitalized, but we don’t have such a resource in the U.S.,” said lead author Ericka Fink, M.D., pediatric intensivist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and associate professor of critical care medicine and pediatrics at Pitt.
To Know More You May Relate To
Fink, Ericka & Robertson, Courtney & Wainwright, Mark & Roa, Juan & Schober, Michelle. (2021). Prevalence and Risk Factors of Neurologic Manifestations in Hospitalized Children Diagnosed with Acute SARS-CoV-2 or MIS-C. Pediatric Neurology. 128. 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2021.12.010.
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