Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome (PIMS) Did Occur in Poland during Months with Low COVID-19 Prevalence, Preliminary Results of a Nationwide Register

Okarska-Napierała, Magdalena; Ludwikowska, Kamila M.; Szenborn, Leszek; Dudek, Natalia; Mania, Anna; Buda, Piotr; Książyk, Janusz; Mazur-Malewska, Katarzyna; Figlerowicz, Magdalena; Szczukocki, Maciej; Kucińska, Beata; Werner, Bożena; Stopyra, Lidia; Czech, Agnieszka; Berdej-Szczot, Elżbieta; Gawlik, Aneta; Opalińska, Paulina; Mazur, Artur; Januszkiewicz-Lewandowska, Danuta; Niszczota, Cezary; Jackowska, Teresa; Wysocki, Jacek; Kuchar, Ernest

Pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS) is a new entity in children, likely associated with previous coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) infection. Most of the reports about PIMS come from countries particularly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to investigate the nature of inflammatory syndromes in Poland (country with low COVID-19 prevalence) and to perceive the emergence of PIMS in our country. On 25 May 2020, we launched a nationwide survey of inflammatory syndromes in children for retrospective (since 4 March 2020) and prospective data collection. Up to 28 July, 39 reported children met the inclusion criteria. We stratified them according to age (<5 and ≥ 5 years old) and COVID-19 status. The majority of children had clinical and laboratory features of Kawasaki disease, probably non-associated with COVID-19. However, children ≥5 years of age had PIMS characteristics, and nine children had COVID-19 confirmation. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of the PIMS register from a country with a low COVID-19 prevalence, and it proves that PIMS may emerge in any area involved in the COVID-19 pandemic. In a context of limited COVID-19 testing availability, other risk factors of PIMS, e.g., older age, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory syndromes in children.