Doctors at OU Health said they are seeing more and more cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
The condition is considered to be a side effect of COVID-19 and causes various body parts to become inflamed, including the heart, lungs and kidneys.
The doctors with OU Children’s told News 9 that the condition is still rare for the general public, but they have now seen about two dozen children with MIS-C in their hospital. As COVID-19 cases increase, doctors think they’re also seeing an increase in the condition.
Alyssa Stoops and Lauren Roach quickly realized the impact that MIS-C can 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 she assumed her entire family was positive. Stoops also assumed everyone has recovered and looks good.
One morning Lexi felt down and then went downhill quickly. After days of doctor to doctor in the Prague area without answers, Lexi had to be taken by ambulance to OU children.
“She was admitted to the ICU,” Stoops said. “She was put in a ventilator and anesthetized for about five days.”
Roach’s 3-year-old Jentry avoided the ICU but still had major problems.
Weeks before, Jentry caught COVID-19, but he had a very slight reaction to the virus. Her fever disappeared 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 she should bring her little girl to OU.
MIS-C can be fatal, but both girls received treatments. Because MIS-C is so new, doctors at OU Health said that it is common for health workers in rural areas not to realize what they are dealing with.
“MIS-C was therefore only recognized as an entity in March,” said Dr. Donna Tyungu told OU Health. “In a central location where we see a lot of children, we will gain experience in front of a rural hospital.”
At present, physicians are still learning about COVID-19 and MIS-C, so they do not know what the long-term effects of the condition are.
Tyungu said the best way to protect children is to make sure they wear a mask, wash their hands and have social distance.
Both families told New 9 that they would follow up with a cardiologist and other specialists to monitor their child.
According to the latest data from the CDC, there were more than 1600 children in the US who developed MIS-C. The information given is about ten days ago, and it looks like some of the cases that doctors in Oklahoma have told News 9 are missing.
The CDC said the symptoms parents should look for include:
- Fever
- Stomach pain
- Braking
- Diarrhea
- Neck pain
- Outcome
- Bloodshot eyes
- I feel extra tired
For more information, click here to go to the official page of the CDC on MIS-C.