Paediatric case of prolonged COVID-19 manifesting as PMIS-TS and atypical Kawasaki

Masih, Mike; Moll, Sarah; Raza, Naila

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented disease burden worldwide, affecting patients of all ages. Recently, there has been a rise in a new inflammatory condition termed paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PMIS-TS). We are yet to understand significant risk factors, disease progression and prognosis in children affected. We describe a case of a 9-year-old boy who tested positive concurrently for the SARS-CoV-2 virus 4 weeks apart. He presented with a 2-day history of fever, abdominal pain, headache and diarrhoea. Initial investigations supported PMIS-TS and he went on to develop atypical Kawasaki disease. With no results to differentiate between his positive results, we question whether he remained positive throughout or recovered with reactivation of the virus. There are reports of reactivation in adults but none in children. There are also no reports of children remaining positive for such a prolonged period, which raises public health concerns.