OU Health doctors said they are seeing more and more cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
The condition is considered a side effect of COVID-19 and causes different parts of the body to become inflamed, including the heart, lungs and kidneys.
OU Children’s doctors told News 9 that the condition is still rare for the general public, but the hospital has seen about two dozen children with MIS-C. As COVID-19 cases increase, doctors think they are also seeing an increase in the condition.
Alyssa Stoops and Lauren Roach quickly learned the impact that MIS-C could have on children.
Stoops’ 8-year-old Lexi was a healthy child who was exposed to COVID-19 in October. Stoops herself had the virus and assumed that her entire family was positive. Stoops also assumed that everyone had recovered and looked well.
One morning, Lexi felt nauseous and soon got worse. After seeing several doctors in the Prague area unanswered for several days, Lexi had to be taken by ambulance to OU Children’s.
“She was admitted to the ICU,” said Stoops. “She was put on a respirator and sedated for about five days.”
Roent’s 3-year-old Jentry avoided the ICU, but still had major problems.
Weeks earlier, Jentry caught COVID-19, but had a very small reaction to the virus. Her fever was gone in just 24 hours. When Jentry developed MIS-C, she had a high fever that would not go away and a rash all over her body.
Roach also went from doctor to doctor in the Kingfisher area, before deciding that he needed to take his daughter to the OU.
MIS-C can be deadly, but the two girls received treatment. Because MIS-C is so new, doctors at OU Health said it is common for health professionals in rural areas not to recognize what they are dealing with.
“Therefore, MIS-C was not even recognized as an entity until March,” said Dr. Donna Tyungu of OU Health. “So, in a central place where we see many children, we will have experience before a rural hospital.”
At the moment, doctors are still learning about COVID-19 and MIS-C, so they don’t know the long-term effects of having the disease.
Tyungu said the best way to protect children is to make sure they wear a mask, wash their hands and distance themselves socially.
Both families told New 9 that they will be followed up with a cardiologist and other specialists to monitor their child.
According to the most recent data from the CDC, more than 1600 children have developed MIS-C in the United States. The data provided is about 10 days ago and does not appear to have any of the cases that doctors in Oklahoma told News 9 they saw.
The CDC said that symptoms that parents should look for include:
- Fever
- Abdominal pain
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Neck pain
- Rash
- Red eyes
- Feeling of extra tiredness
For more information, click here to access the official CDC page on MIS-C.