“We are getting more of these MIS-C children now, but this time it would seem that a higher percentage of them are really critically ill,” said Dr. Roberta DeBiasi, head of infectious diseases at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, said. DC During the first wave of hospitalization, about half of the patients needed treatment in the intensive care unit, she said, but now it is 80 to 90 percent.
The reasons are unclear. The boom follows the overall increase in Covid cases in the United States after the winter holiday season, and more cases could simply increase the chance of serious illness. So far, there is no evidence that recent coronavirus variants are responsible, and experts believe it is too early to speculate on the impact of variants on the syndrome.
The condition remains rare. The latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 2,060 cases in 48 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, including 30 deaths. The average age was 9, but babies up to 20 years old were hit. The data, which was only completed in mid-December, show that the number of cases has increased since mid-October.
While most young people, even those who have become seriously ill, have survived and gone home in a relatively healthy condition, doctors are not sure if there will be any problems with sadness or other problems.
“We really do not know what will happen in the long run,” said Dr. Jean Ball Road, medical director of pediatric heart transplantation and advanced heart failure at the Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, Neb., Said, from April to October. the hospital treated about two cases per month, of which about 30 percent increased in the ICU. It rose to 12 cases in December and by January 12, with 60 per cent needing ICU care – most needing fans. “They seem to be sicker,” she said.