Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C)

About MIS-C-

• Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS)  can affect children (MIS-C) and adults (MIS-A). 
• MIS-C is a rare but serious condition where children with COVID-19 develop inflammation affecting different organs of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
• In children who go on to develop MIS-C, some organs and tissues become severely inflamed. 
• The cause of inflammation underlying MIS-C is not well understood.
• Patients with MIS-C were initially reported to show features similar to Kawasaki disease, which causes swelling (inflammation) in the walls of medium-sized arteries, particularly the coronary arteries in children.
• However, children with MIS-C are generally older (mostly school-aged) than patients with Kawasaki disease (mostly younger than five years of age) and presented with intestinal involvement and heart attack.
• Since there is no diagnostic test, the conditions are defined by fever and elevated inflammatory markers in children with current or recent SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID exposure within four weeks before the onset of symptoms.
• Clinical presentation for organ dysfunction includes abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, skin rash, conjunctivitis, red cracked lips and, in severe cases, hypotension (low blood pressure) and shock.
• WHO first described this condition in May 2020, and provided a preliminary clinical definition.
• WHO’s updated guidelines recommend the use of corticosteroids in hospitalized children (aged 0-18 years) with this condition, in addition to supportive treatment and care.