COVID Response?: 15 Children Hospitalized In New York With Dangerous Inflammatory Syndrome
No children have died of the syndrome, which causes inflammation in the walls of the arteries and can limit blood flow to the heart, but some have been placed on ventilators or given blood pressure support. Similar cases have been reported in California and several European nations. Other news on treating children reports on how medical workers should protect themselves when caring for a group of patients portrayed as less vulnerable than older patients.
The New York Times:
15 Children Are Hospitalized With Mysterious Illness Possibly Tied To Covid-19
Fifteen children, many of whom had the coronavirus, have recently been hospitalized in New York City with a mysterious syndrome that doctors do not yet fully understand but that has also been reported in several European countries, health officials announced on Monday night. Many of the children, ages 2 to 15, have shown symptoms associated with toxic shock or Kawasaki disease, a rare illness in children that involves inflammation of the blood vessels, including coronary arteries, the city’s health department said. None of the New York City patients with the syndrome have died, according to a bulletin from the health department, which describes the illness as a “multisystem inflammatory syndrome potentially associated with Covid-19.” (Goldstein, 5/5)
CNN:
15 Children Are Hospitalized In New York City With An Inflammatory Syndrome That Could Be Linked To Coronavirus
Fifteen children in New York City have been hospitalized with symptoms compatible with a multi-system inflammatory syndrome possibly linked to coronavirus, according to a health alert issued by the New York City Health Department on Monday. The patients, ages 2 to 15 years, were hospitalized from April 17 to May 1, according to the alert. Several tested positive for Covid-19 or had positive antibody tests. (Gumbrecht, Sutton and Silverman, 5/5)
CIDRAP:
AHA Guidance Directs Resuscitation In Kids Amid COVID-19
Guidance from the American Heart Association (AHA) and other groups on resuscitating newborns and children with COVID-19 was published today in Pediatrics to bridge the gap between current practice and the need for healthcare workers to protect themselves amid worldwide shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic. While children are far less likely than adults to have severe illness or die from the novel coronavirus, the researchers noted that the prevalence of infection in children and their ability to spread the disease is likely underestimated, "presumably impacting how health care providers consider the risk associated with resuscitating children with unknown COVID-19 status." (Van Beusekom, 5/4)
