Pediatricians warn of post-COVID complications coming

OSWEGO, IL — The week of Halloween, much than 107,000 pediatric cases of COVID-19 were reported. With an summation successful cases, wellness officials are bracing for a question of children who whitethorn acquisition a rare, but perchance deadly, post-COVID complication. The inflammatory information tin impact captious organs and mostly presents weeks aft infection.

Paige Bendersky’s household had been taking each precaution during the pandemic. The 7-year-old hadn’t tested affirmative for coronavirus but thing was wrong.

“I felt sick, and I lone would devour blistery dogs,” said Paige.

With a 104 temperature, lethargy and a headache, Paige’s ma was getting concerned.

“She had a temp, and it wasn't going down. And past I saw that she wasn't eating. She wasn't drinking,” said Paige’s mother, Alyssa Bendersky.

Paige was rushed to the infirmary by ambulance and past to the intensive attraction unit.

“Her humor unit started to driblet and so, they had to enactment a cardinal enactment successful in bid to commencement the treatment,” said Bendersky.

Paige was diagnosed with the multisystem inflammatory syndrome, oregon MIS-C, a uncommon complication of COVID-19 that mostly affects school-age children.

“She was tested; came retired antagonistic each time,” said Bendersky. “I didn't adjacent deliberation astir COVID astatine that point. I conscionable thought, 'OK, possibly it's pneumonia.'”

Dr. Latania Logan, the main of pediatric infectious diseases astatine Rush University Medical Center, says it’s not uncommon for children to person MIS-C pursuing an asymptomatic and undetected lawsuit of COVID, arsenic was the lawsuit with Paige.

“They didn't cognize she had COVID. And past weeks later, she gets this precise superior inflammatory response. And the lone crushed we cognize is due to the fact that she has antibodies against COVID infection,” said Dr. Logan.

Symptoms of MIS-C look weeks aft a COVID infection. It tin origin inflammation successful the heart, lungs, kidneys, encephalon oregon gastrointestinal organs.

“Some of these children are really successful daze erstwhile we spot them,” said Dr. Logan. “And so, we person to springiness them attraction based connected immoderate is the dysfunction of their organs.”

Numerous authorities officials accidental they expect MIS-C cases to summation implicit the adjacent fewer weeks and months.

“We cognize erstwhile there's going to beryllium a question of COVID, we tin expect astir 4 to six weeks aboriginal we're going to spot a question of MIS-C. And that's again what happened with this delta wave,” said Dr. Logan.

As of Nov. 1, the CDC reported 5,526 confirmed pediatric cases of MIS-C and 48 deaths nationwide. The median property of children with the information was 9 years old.

MIS-C symptoms tin see fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, bloodshot eyes, swelling of hands and feet, and headache.

Untreated, the information tin beryllium deadly oregon person long-lasting effects connected the heart, which is wherefore experts accidental it’s important to rapidly admit the symptoms and question treatment.

“I conscionable retrieve conscionable crying, you know, and conscionable praying that she would marque it,” recalled Bendersky.

Paige did marque it, and arsenic soon arsenic she became eligible, she and her brother, Cooper, got vaccinated.

“I saw firsthand what COVID is and what it could do,” said Bendersky. “And if getting vaccinated means that we could get backmost to normal, past wherefore aren't we going to bash that?"

The second-grader is present backmost to enjoying karate and gymnastics, with the occasional sojourn to the cardiologist.