Case Series of Clinical Findings of Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children in Contrast to Kawasaki Disease

Aung, Htay H; Nulman, Oksana; Nadroo, Iram; Chhabra, Manoj

Several months into the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is growing concern over an increase in the incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-linked Kawasaki-like disease in the pediatric population. The pediatric patients presented to the emergency room with impending shock in the setting of an atypical Kawasaki picture. On May 14, 2020, the CDC Health Alert Network released a case definition for this evolving syndrome and named it multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). We report three cases of MIS-C associated with SAR-COV2 who presented to our emergency room. Persistent fever was present in all three patients and mucocutaneous and gastrointestinal symptoms were the most common associations. All three patients were found to have antibodies to COVID-19. MIS-C is a similar but distinct entity as compared to Kawasaki disease. High inflammatory markers are supportive of the diagnosis, and cardiac evaluation is crucial in MIS-C. High suspicion for the diagnosis and low threshold for workup will prevent delayed treatment.