PIMS is a pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2. It resembles an infection because children undergoing PIMS have a high fever, abdominal pain and/or diarrhea, conjunctivitis and a rash. However, PIMS is not an infectious disease , and the drugs used are intended to suppress inflammation in the body. It was long thought that children rarely get COVID-19. And if it does happen, the infection is asymptomatic and the disease does not cause any negative consequences. Today we know that this is not true. Each subsequent wave of the coronavirus brings new information about the disease and its complications in children.
The first cases of PIMS were recorded in Poland in May 2020, and since October of the same year there has been a significant increase in the number of cases . It is worth emphasizing that this is still a rare complication. However, if it occurs, the child should always be taken to hospital 1 . This is because his condition may deteriorate rapidly . This condition can be life-threatening. In some patients, PIMS has a very severe course. Almost 8% of children required treatment in intensive care units , and the mortality rate is approximately 2%.
PIMS usually appears 2-4 weeks after the child has been infected with coronavirus. It may also occur if the disease is asymptomatic. As doctors emphasize, PIMS waves always appear after subsequent waves of the pandemic.
The most common symptom is fever . PIMS always appears and is always a disturbing symptom. You should consult a doctor if the fever is accompanied by abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, a rash that appears in various parts of the body, conjunctivitis (the whites of the eyes are bloodshot, this condition is not accompanied by discharge), changes in the tongue ("strawberry tongue" "), swelling of the limbs or general weakness . Headaches, neck pain and throat pain may also occur. Doctors warn that one child does not have to have all the symptoms at the same time 2 .
Who most often suffers from PIMS in Poland? Post-COVID syndrome most often affects children between 5 and 12 years of age , the average age is 8.6 years 3 . Boys are more often affected - they constitute 63% of this group of patients. Fever occurs in all children, 81% have a rash, 76% - conjunctivitis, 82% - abdominal pain. 61% also experienced nausea or vomiting. 60% of sick children had diarrhea. At the time of writing this article, over 500 cases of PIMS in children have been reported in Poland 4 .
The disease can attack all body systems - digestive, respiratory, circulatory, urinary and neurological. You should absolutely consult a pediatrician if your child has a cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, blood pressure that is too high or too low, bleeding for no reason or fainting, decreased urine output, and the child is sleepy (excessively sleepy). ), apathetic, behaves differently than usual. Cardiac complications may occur in sick children , including acute myocardial damage, abnormalities in the coronary arteries and cardiac arrhythmias. There is also a risk of shock .
While virus infection can be detected immediately by performing a test, there is no universal test for PIMS . The diagnosis is aided by the results of laboratory tests that show abnormalities. The concentration of lymphocytes may decrease, ion and protein disturbances and high markers of heart damage may occur. Due to the serious risk of fatal complications, any child suspected of having PIMs should be hospitalized. The disease is treated with immunoglobulins, intravenous glucocorticosteroids, and biological drugs. The decision depends on the treating physician and the patient's condition.
Bibliography: Okarska-Napierała M., Ludwikowska K., Jackowska K., “MANAGEMENT OF A CHILD WITH MULTI-SYSTEM INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19”, Przegląd Pediatryczny2021/Vol. 50/No. 2/1-11 “Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome (PIMS)”, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, NHS Foundation Trust, November 2020. “Number of PIMS cases in Poland”, pimsudzieci.pl, accessed February 21, 2022. “PIMS – post-COVID syndrome in children”, patient.gov.pl, accessed February 21, 2022.
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Napisała: Hanna Borowska
Editor, journalist, science writer, certified nutrition consultant. Motherhood made her interest in health issues change the direction of her professional path. She has completed several trainings and courses in Poland and abroad in the field of dietetics, functional medicine and aromatherapy. She is passionate about the unexplored power of the human microbiome. She graduated with honors from the Faculty of Journalism and Political Science at the University of Warsaw. For many years associated with Euroradio.fm.
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