Alert in Colorado for COVID-related syndrome in children

CASES REPORTED BY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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Children’s Hospital Colorado has notified about three potential cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C), a syndrome in children that appears to be related to COVID-19. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) encourages parents and guardians continue with well-child checkups and to contact a health care provider when their child is ill, especially if they may have been exposed to COVID-19.

To protect patient privacy, no other details about these cases will be available. Cases have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for review and final determination. The CDC and CDPHE recently alerted health care providers to be on the lookout for this illness and to report any suspected cases to state public health.
The state and Children’s Hospital Colorado are working to determine whether any previously identified cases of COVID-19 meet the CDC’s case definition for MIS-C.

Children’s Hospital cases

“It’s important to emphasize that this emerging inflammatory syndrome is very rare, and that it is safe to take your child to their doctor or to the hospital, if needed,” said Sam Dominguez, pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Children’s Hospital. “If your child is ill, especially with prolonged fever, call a doctor to get advice. Parents and providers working together can determine if their child needs to be seen.”

Children’s Hospital Colorado is well poised to identify and treat this syndrome, having been at the forefront of work on Kawasaki disease in the United States. Experts at Children’s Hospital Colorado describe MIS-C as having features of Kawasaki disease, a systemic inflammatory disease of children, primarily seen in kids under the age of 5.

In contrast to Kawasaki disease, children with MIS-C are often older, have more severe gastrointestinal complaints including abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, and have involvement of multiple organ systems. Children who meet the case definition are sometimes ill enough to require intensive care, but few have died.

Advice

CDPHE also would like to encourage parents and guardians to resume well-childcare they may have delayed during the Stay-at-Home Order. “The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things, but kids still need their checkups and vaccinations. Pediatric and family practice offices are safe, open, and ready to care for your children,” says Rachel Herlihy, State Epidemiologist, CDPHE

Symptoms of Kawasaki disease
• Several days of high fever
• Rash
• Red eyes
• Red lips or tongue
• Red or swollen hands and feet
• Enlarged lymph nodes in the neck
• If left untreated, damage to the arteries that supply the heart occurs in 20-25% of cases

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