Press release
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
An observational study has been initiated to evaluate the short- and long-term health outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), and to characterize the associated immune pathways. to different presentations of diseases and results. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. The study, called the Pediatric Immune Research Network on SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C (PRISM), will enroll at least 250 children and young adults 20 years of age or younger from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds in approximately 20 locations nationwide. . The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, sponsors and funds the study. The PRISM study is part of a research effort led by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of NIH and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to understand MIS-C.
Although SARS-CoV-2 infection usually does not cause any disease or only a mild illness in children, some children become seriously ill at the time of infection, while others who initially show no symptoms develop MIS-C. MIS-C is a life-threatening condition marked by severe inflammation of one or more parts of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, and gastrointestinal organs. The syndrome usually begins a few weeks after exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and disproportionately affects black and Hispanic children.
“It is critical that we learn how to prevent and treat this rare but very serious syndrome in children,” said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD. “The information gathered through the PRISM study can ultimately help doctors diagnose and treat MIS-C as well as how to predict which children are susceptible to the disease.”
The PRISM study aims to fill the understanding of the clinical spectrum of COVID-19 in children and young adults, the long-term outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in these populations, and the underlying immune base of MIS -C. It is headed by Clinical Protocol President Steven A. Webber, MBCh.B., MRCP, president of the pediatric department at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. from Vanderbilt to Nashville, Tennessee.
The PRISM study team is enrolling children and young adult volunteers with detectable SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory samples, with symptoms of MIS-C, or both. Participants will be followed for at least one year.
The study has two main objectives. The first is to determine the proportion of children who die, are rehospitalized after initial hospital admission, or have significant health complications due to SARS-CoV-2 at six and 12 months after initial presentation with COVID-19, MIS- C, or both. The second is to determine the mechanisms and immunological characteristics associated with different forms of MIS-C and COVID-19 in children. Results are expected in mid-2022.
More information about the PRISM study is available at ClinicalTrials.gov with study identifier NCT04588363.
NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, in the United States, and around the world — to study the causes of infectious and mediated diseases by immunity and to develop better means to prevent, diagnose, and treat these diseases. Press releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.
Regarding the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
NIH, the country’s medical research agency, includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the leading federal agency that conducts and supports basic, clinical, and translational medical research and investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
NIH … Turning discovery into health®