This story appeared in ABC 12. Read more here.
The number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 has been declining in Michigan; however pediatricians say they’ve seen more kids coming in with cases of the rare post COVID multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C).
“We’ve had dozens of cases with this over since the pandemic began,” Dr. Michael Fiore, medical director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Saginaw Covenant Health Care.
Doctors say symptoms start to appear in children about four to six weeks following a COVID infection or an a-symptomatic case. If not treated could lead to life threatening complications.
“It can really vary child to child and it can be quite significant,” Fiore said. “We worry about life threatening complications like cardiovascular renal or pulmonary complications from it.”
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, 263 cases of MIS-C have been reported across the state, with over 60 percent admitted to the ICU.
Even after months of diagnosing kids, Fiore says there’s not always a tell-tale sign in kids due to what he says is a mixed bag of symptoms.
“It’s not straightforward to diagnose,” he said. “It’s a complicated disease process because a lot of children don’t necessarily have a history of the COVID-19 infection so it often relies upon a multidisciplinary approach.”
Fiore says the main symptoms of MIS-C includes abdominal pain, high fever and a rash.
Currently research is underway to learn the cause of the infection and how it could be link to different strains of the coronavirus. But experts say, to prevent MIS-C altogether, it starts with the COVID vaccine.
“Immunizations have been extremely effective at preventing COVID-MIS-C as a complication of COVID,” Fiore said. “The number of cases of children who have needed support because of MIS-C seeing a fully vaccinated child is almost zero.”