Algorithm for the diagnosis and management of the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children associated with COVID-19

OBJECTIVE

Although the initial reports of COVID-19 cases in children described that children were largely protected from severe manifestations, clusters of paediatric cases of severe systemic hyperinflammation and shock related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection began to be reported in the latter half of April 2020. A novel syndrome called "multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children" (MIS-C) shares common clinical features with other well-defined syndromes, including Kawasaki disease, toxic shock syndrome and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome. Our objective was to develop a protocol for the evaluation, treatment and follow-up of patients with MIS-C.

METHODS

The protocol was developed by a multidisciplinary team. We convened a multidisciplinary working group with representation from the departments of paediatric critical care, cardiology, rheumatology, surgery, gastroenterology, haematology, immunology, infectious disease and neurology. Our protocol and recommendations were based on the literature and our experiences with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. After an agreement was reached and the protocol was implemented, revisions were made on the basis of expert feedback.

CONCLUSION

Children may experience acute cardiac decompensation or other organ system failure due to this severe inflammatory condition. Therefore, patients with severe symptoms of MIS-C should be managed in a paediatric intensive care setting, as rapid clinical deterioration may occur. Therapeutic approaches for MIS-C should be tailored depending on the patients' phenotypes. Plasmapheresis may be useful as a standard treatment to control hypercytokinemia in cases of MIS-C with severe symptoms. Long-term follow-up of patients with cardiac involvement is required to identify any sequelae of MIS-C.

The efficacy and safety of naproxen in acute rheumatic fever: The comparative results of 11-year experience with acetylsalicylic acid and naproxen

The objective was to compare the efficacy and safety of naproxen (NXN) to acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in the treatment of acute rheumatic fever (ARF). The data of 338 children were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were grouped according to joint and valve involvement and also drug chosen [methyl prednisolone (mPSL), ASA or NXN]. The treatment results and adverse events in each group were compared. The mean age was 10.3 years and the median follow-up was 62 months. Median time for normalization of acute phase reactants was 1 week in patients given steroids and 2 weeks in patients given ASA or NXN. ASA was replaced with NXN in 18 patients (10.2%) due to hepatic toxicity. The rate of rebound, recurrence and the prevalence of rheumatic valve disease were not different in patients given NXN, ASA or mPSL. In conclusion, NXN is a safe and effective alternative to ASA in the treatment of ARF in children.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension in a child with stage-IV neuroblastoma after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and review of the literature

PH is a rare condition with high mortality rate after pediatric HSCT. As clinical presentation is non-specific and may mimic other conditions, a high degree of suspicion is required for diagnosis. Here, we present a patient with stage-IV neuroblastoma who developed PAH after autologous HSCT. After exclusion of other causes of PH, we regarded that this condition was secondary to HSCT.

Effect of obesity on left ventricular longitudinal myocardial strain by speckle tracking echocardiography in children and adolescents

BACKGROUND

Impaired subclinical ventricular function may contribute to the risk of cardiovascular disease in obesity.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of obesity on left ventricular (LV) longitudinal myocardial function in normotensive obese children using two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography (STE).

STUDY DESIGN

Case-control study.

METHODS

Sixty normotensive obese children aged 10-16 years (mean age, 13.9±2.3 years) were compared with 50 normal-weight controls. Obese participants had a body mass index (BMI)≥95(th) percentile. Regional strain/strain rate (SR) values were compared with left ventricular (LV) parameters. The correlation was studied by linear regression analysis.

RESULTS

Obese subjects exhibited a significantly higher LV end-diastolic diameter, left atrium/aortic diameter ratio, and LV mass/index when compared to controls (p<0.001). Left ventricular ejection fraction and regional systolic myocardial velocities were similar in the obese and control groups. By 2D STE, regional strain of both the septal wall (average strain: -16.0±3.9% vs -21.9±2.4%, p<0.001) and lateral wall (average strain: -15.6±2.3% vs -22.9±3.5%, p<0.001); regional SR of both the septal wall (average SRsys: -0.7±0.22 s(-1) vs -1.3±0.32 s(-1), p<0.001) and lateral wall (average SRsys: -0.67±0.19 s(-1) vs -1.33±0.31 s(-1), p<0.001); regional SRE/A of both the septal wall (average SRE/A: 1.8±0.83 vs. 2.2±0.91, p: 0.004) and lateral wall (average SRE/A: 1.4±0.43 vs. 2.4±1.21, p<0.001); and global strain (-14.6±7.34% vs -20.9±3.24%, p<0.001) were lower in the obese group compared with the controls. These strain imaging parameters appear to be related to the severity of obesity and can contribute to increased BMI. Left ventricular mass was found to be correlated with a decrease in global LV strain.

CONCLUSION

Our study showed that childhood obesity is associated with an alteration in the longitudinal LV function. Segmental analysis of the LV can provide subtle markers for the emergence of future obesity-related cardiac disease.

P-wave and QT interval dispersion analysis in children with Eisenmenger syndrome

OBJECTIVES

P-wave and QT dispersion are increased and associated with atrial and ventricular arrhythmia and an increase in sudden death in a variety of diseases. This study aimed to investigate P-wave and QT dispersion in children with Eisenmenger syndrome (ES).

STUDY DESIGN

The study group included 27 children (15 females, 12 males) with both congenital heart disease (CHD) and ES. The control group consisted of 30 children with CHD without pulmonary arterial hypertension. Electrocardiographic records were used to determine P-wave, QT, and corrected QT (QTc) dispersions. 24-hour (h) rhythm Holter was fitted in all patients. Atrial volumes, ventricular dimensions and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) were measured by echocardiography.

RESULTS

There was no difference between groups with regard to age, sex, weight, and body surface area (p>0.05). Right atrial volume was significantly larger in the ES group than in the control group. P-wave, QT and QTc dispersions were higher in the patients with ES (50.10±11.12 vs. 26.32±8.90, p<0.001; 57.40±24.21 vs. 38.20±8.92 ms, p<0.001; and 78.20±16.02 vs. 56.52±13.92 ms, p<0.001, respectively). Ventricular and supraventricular ectopy were significantly more frequent in the ES group. Four patients (14.8%) in the study group had tachyarrhythmias during 24-h Holter monitoring.

CONCLUSION

In our study, P-wave and QT dispersion were found to be greater in children with ES than in the healthy control subjects.

Prenatal Diagnosis and Postnatal Follow-up of congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries and recurrent supraventricular tachycardia

The prenatal sonographic diagnosis of congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (ccTGA), a rare form of congenital heart disease is very difficult. A24-year-old woman was referred to our center at 28 weeks' gestationbecause of suspected fetal cardiac anomalies. We report a case of ccTGA with supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular septal defect, pulmonary valve stenosis, tricuspid valvar displacement and moderate tricuspid regurgitation during her pregnancy. The combined presence of SVT and ccTGA are occasionally present in the literature.

[Transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects in a patient with lipomatous hypertrophy of the interatrial septum]

Lipomatous hypertrophy of the interatrial septum is a rare benign pathology characterized by fatty deposits in the septum and is mostly diagnosed incidentally. This accumulation mostly causes a globular thickening of the interatrial septum, commonly sparing the fossa ovalis. We report on a 65-year-old female patient who underwent successful transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects (ASD) accompanied by lipomatous hypertrophy of the septum. Both transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography showed enlargement of the right heart cavities, thickening of the interatrial septum (16 mm) with bright echogenicity, and two separate secundum ASDs measuring 17 mm and 4 mm, respectively. Transcatheter closure of the defects was performed using a 24-mm Amplatzer septal occluder. There was no residual shunt and Holter monitoring was normal after the procedure. During a three-year follow-up, no complications were observed pertaining to the procedure or lipomatous tissue.