Most children admitted to intensive care with a severe inflammatory complication after taking Covid-19 had no persistent problems a year later, according to a study of data collected in UK hospitals.
As the highly contagious Delta variant spreads around the world, doctors say they are concerned about its effect on children, especially those who are not vaccinated. In some areas of the United States, more children have recently been hospitalized for treatment with Covid-19 than at any time during the pandemic since U.S. authorities began tracking the data last year.
The UK study monitored the health of children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome or MIS-C, a rare condition that can appear in children several weeks after Covid-19 infection. It can involve many different organ systems and cause heart problems, including coronary artery aneurysms, arrhythmias, and heart function problems.
Without proper diagnosis and management, which often involves the use of intravenous immunoglobulin or corticosteroids, MIS-C can cause organ damage or even death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 4,400 cases of MIS-C among children were reported in the U.S. during the pandemic in late July.
According to researchers in the UK, most children were recovering from MIS-C without serious long-term problems, which collected data on 68 patients under the age of 18 admitted to intensive care units with MIS-C before 10 May. 2020.