Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome Related to COVID-19 in Previously Healthy Children and Adolescents in New York City
Eva W. Cheung, MD1; Philip Zachariah, MD, MS1; Mark Gorelik, MD1; et alAlexis Boneparth, MD1; Steven G. Kernie, MD1; Jordan S. Orange, MD, PhD1; Joshua D. Milner, MD1
Author Affiliations Article Information
JAMA. Published online June 8, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.10374
Patients were included if they (1) were 21 years or younger; (2) were hospitalized at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York City between April 18 and May 5, 2020; (3) presented with a clinical syndrome characterized by prolonged fever, systemic inflammation, shock, end-organ dysfunction, or symptoms reminiscent of KD or TSS; and (4) had evidence of recent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. SARS-CoV-2 infection was determined by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of nasopharyngeal swabs or positive serology. Serology testing was done using a New York State Department of Health–approved combined assay for IgM and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike trimer or nucleocapsid protein (96% specificity, 93% sensitivity). Admission testing included hematologic parameters, chemistries, co-infections, and inflammatory markers along with assessments of cardiac function (electrocardiograms, transthoracic echocardiograms). The Columbia University ethics committee approved the study with a waiver of informed consent.