WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th June, 2020) Parents should not panic over a rare COVID-19-related pediatric syndrome which can be treated and is unlikely to become a pandemic, US doctors told Sputnik.
A rare disease called Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (PMIS) has affected dozens of children worldwide who were exposed to COVID-19. The syndrome is often characterized by severe inflammation that can cause damage to the heart as well as other parts of the body.
"I do not think people should panic about the possibility of their kids getting this post-COVID-19 inflammatory response reaction. Careful - yes, panic - no," Cardiac Alliance leader Bill Novick told Sputnik. "The overwhelming majority of these kids with proper supportive care recover."
Novick, who conducts complicated pediatric heart surgeries all over the world, has noted that this syndrome is a delayed response to the coronavirus, which occurs about 3-4 weeks after they were exposed. This syndrome has two complications to the heart, he added.
"You can have a severe weakening in the walls of the artery so the artery actually forms aneurysms. Inside the aneurysms, sometimes you can get blood clots," the doctor said.
Some affected children will get the aneurysm that distorts the normal coronary blood flow.
"The children literally can have low cardiac output syndrome and be required to be supported initially, perhaps, by medicines, but in some rare cases they get so bad that we have to put them on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support," Novick explained.
Citing data from the United Kingdom, where two Cardiac Alliance nurses work, Novick said only 30 to 40 percent of children with ECMO survive.
Speaking of ways of protection, Novick explained that the standard therapy is to give a significant dose of intravenous immunoglobulin G. This method has been used to care Kawasaki disease patients in previous years, and was preventing most kids from getting the ultra-serious part of Kawasaki, he added.
Meanwhile, regular safety measures like frequent hand washing, social distancing and face covering should be helpful, Novick added.
Dr. Nella Blyumin from the Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Hospital agreed that this syndrome is very rare and will not affect most kids.
"We at Cleveland Clinic do not believe there is a reliable antibody test on the market at the present time and are not using these tests until there is," she said.
The number of cases related to this syndrome will continue to grow worldwide, but the situation will not become pandemic-like, Blyumin projected.
"I believe, we will continue seeing more of these cases while COVID-19 continues to circulate in the world," she added.
