PIMS-TS, called "childhood pocovid syndrome", attacks children of all ages, both toddlers and adolescents. Most often it is mild, although some juvenile patients may experience serious deterioration of he alth and numerous complications after suffering from COVID-19. What exactly is PIMS-TS and what are the symptoms? We explain!

What is PIMS-TS?

PIMS-TS is a pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome temporarily associated with COVID-19( Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome - Temporally Associated with SARS-CoV-2 ). In the medical literature, PIMS-TS is also known asMIS-C( multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children ).

PIMS-TS which is a complication of COVID-19 may appear in the periodfrom 2 to 6 weeksand in children who have been asymptomatically or relatively infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus . It is possible that this multi-systemic inflammatory disease may also be acute. PIMS-TS is thereforethe body's immune response to the disease .

- It should be noted thatPIMS-TS is not COVID-19.The vast majority of children suffer from COVID-19 mildly. The course (of the disease - ed.) Cannot be compared to the course of adult patients. On the other hand, in some children, a few weeks after exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, inflammation of the multisystemic inflammatory syndrome, which is abbreviated as PIMS-TS, develops - explained Dr. Magdalena Okarska-Napierała from the Department of Paediatrics of the Medical University of Warsaw (MUW) during the online debate Fri "Multi-organ damage caused by SARS-CoV-2."

So what does the epidemiology of the so-called PIMS-TS syndrome in children?

According to the pediatrician, "this is a difficult question because there is no complete data on this disease yet." On the other hand, as noted by Dr. Magdalena Okarska-Napierała, "a national register of inflammatory diseases in children was created, the purpose of which was to capture PIMS-TS in Poland". Most likely, so far it has recordedabout 300-400 children struggling with this disease in our country.

The first andthe most numerous clinical descriptions of PIMS-TS, however, come from the United States . Over 3,000 cases of this disease have been registered there among juvenile patients. - In the StatesUnited children in the first half of 2022 were more ill than in the second half of the year. So it seems that in subsequent waves (pandemic - ed.) The course is slightly different. On the other hand, the data we have collected in Poland are very beneficial, because in our group of patients, such a severe course (disease - ed.) Is much less common, which would require treatment under intensive care conditions - said Dr. Magdalena Okarska-Napierała.

According to the data provided by a specialist in childhood diseases, in the USAabout 60-70 percent. children with PIMS-TS are hospitalized in intensive care unitsand the main cause is circulatory failure. Dr. Magdalena Okarska-Napierała added during the debate "in Poland (the incidence rate - ed.) Is below 10%, which is a very big difference. It is very possible thatthis disease is genetically determined”.

Obesity may also beconsidered a suspected factor in the severe course of PIMS-TS , as reported by Dr. Magdalena Okarska-Napierała. - It is not known yet. There are more epidemiological differences, but it is difficult to say which one really matters. And which is only a coincidence - she clarified.

Read also: What are the complications for a pregnant woman and her child due to COVID-19?

How to recognize PIMS-TS by COVID-19?

Child Pocovid Syndromedevelops a few weeks after being infected with COVID-19 . Symptoms of PIMS-TS may be harmless at the very beginning. Some of them are associated with a disease resembling Kawasaki syndrome, the so-called acute systemic disease of unknown cause which causes inflammation of blood vessels. What these two diseases have in common are dermal and mucosal symptoms and complications in the form of coronary aneurysms of the heart.

Pocovid disease can attack many systems in a child's body. In the course of PIMS-TS, cardiological disorders, including heart failure, occur mainly. There are also changes in the coronary vessels.

As we read in "COVID-19 disease characteristics - symptoms and he alth effects. Recommendations and experiences of Polish clinicians "prepared by experts on the initiative" Science against the pandemic "PIMS-TS has many symptoms, the most important of which are:

  • high fever, which may last at least 3 days,
  • rash,
  • stomach ache,
  • heart failure,
  • petechiae in the mouth, hands and feet,
  • red eyes.

After a while, gastrointestinal symptoms may also occur and thendehydration occurs.

What is the prognosis of PIMS-TS in children?

Children with suspected PIMS-TS syndrome should be hospitalized and under constant medical supervision. Because the patient's he alth may deteriorate in the following days of the disease. Depending on its development, it may result in the necessity ofspecialist medical care , and in some cases intensive therapy is necessary.

- The observations recorded at the beginning of the existence of this syndrome still apply - thatthe long-term prognosis is good, that there are no permanent consequences of PIMS-TS in children.We have April 2022 and exactly one year has passed since the first reports. Therefore, it is difficult for us to speak of any real long-term consequences on such a scale of years. On the other hand, all the studies published so far lead to the fact that children most likely have a favorable prognosis. They come out of it completely unscathed - said Dr. Magdalena Okarska-Napierała during the debate on "Multi-organ damage caused by SARS-CoV-2."

Continuing her statement, she drew attention to a very interesting feature of the PIMS-TS. It turns out that in the acute phase of the disease, children look very ill and show signs of multi-organ damage. - They have symptoms from various organs and systems, they have kidney failure, very often circulatory failure.After two weeks of hospitalization, they usually leave the hospitalin full he alth. Children (after illness - ed.) Are observed for months before cardiologists. Only time will tell if there are any lasting consequences (after the PIMS-TS team - ed.), But the data published so far are very promising - she concluded.

Probe

Category:

Infectious diseases