Looking back: What we learned about MIS-C in 2021

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have continued to investigate the clinical characteristic of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a serious illness linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

We compiled a list of Healio stories about the syndrome known as MIS-C from the past year.

Researchers identify attributes that may differentiate MIS-C from COVID-19
A February report in JAMA Pediatrics involving more than 1,000 patients identified cardiac involvement, age and race as attributes that could differentiate MIS-C from severe COVID-19. Read more.

COVID-19 positivity, myocarditis distinguish MIS-C from Kawasaki disease

A study in Pediatric Rheumatology more clearly distinguished symptoms of MIS-C from Kawasaki disease, with older age, presence of myocarditis and COVID-19 positivity all more commonly found in the former. Read more.

Study provides ‘greater insight’ into MIS-C

Peaks of MIS-C occurred 2 to 5 weeks after peaks of COVID-19 in the United States, a JAMA Pediatrics study found, supporting the hypothesis that the syndrome is caused bu a delayed response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Read more.

Half of kids with MIS-C experience neurological symptoms

Preliminary research suggested half of children at a London hospital who developed MIS-C experienced neurological symptoms, such as headache, encephalopathy and hallucinations. Read more.

Heart, inflammatory issues resolve rapidly in MIS-C, study finds

Heart and inflammatory issues experienced by patients hospitalized with MIS-C mostly resolved within a few months, according to a study published in Pediatrics. Read more.

MIS-C, MIS-A cohorts show symptomatic resolution in children, less success in adults

In a cohort of four children and four adults with MIS-C, children generally had superior outcomes after discharge, noted a speaker at the 2021 North American Young Rheumatology Investigator Forum. Read more.

UK researchers report ‘reassuring’ data on long-term MIS-C outcomes

Just as schools began to open for the year, researchers in the United Kingdom reported “reassuring” data on the 1-year outcomes of dozens of children with MIS-C. Read more.

Children with MIS-C mount normal T-cell response to SARS-CoV-2, study finds
Children with MIS-C mounted a normal T-cell response to SARS-CoV-2, according results from a multi-institutional study reported in the European Journal of Immunology. Read more.

MIS-C surges 'almost predictable': expert

In a presentation at the 34th Annual Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium, Roberta DeBiasi, MD, MS, section chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., said that surges of MIS-C are “almost predictable.”  Read more.

MIS-C cases more severe in second wave, study finds

Patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children experienced more severe illness during a second wave of cases compared with the first, according to a study published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. Read more.