Background: Several cases of skin and central nervous system vasculopathy associated with COVID-19 in children have been published, but the information is rather limited. Our study aimed to describe these cases of vasculitis associated with COVID-19 in children.
Methods: In the retrospective-prospective case series study we included information regarding four children with COVID-19-associated vasculitis. In every case, we had a morphological description and the etiology was confirmed via real-time polymerase chain reaction during a tissue biopsy.
Results: The most involved systems were skin (4/4), respiratory (3/4), cardiovascular (2/4), nervous (1/4), eye (1/4), kidney (1/4), and inner year (1/4). All patients had increased inflammatory markers and thrombotic parameters (D-dimer). No patient met the criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Two patients met polyarteritis nodosa criteria, one met Henoch-Schonlein purpura criteria, and one met unclassified vasculitis criteria. All patients were treated with systemic glucocorticosteroids (two-pulse therapy). Non-biologic DMARDs were prescribed in all cases; 1/4 patients (25%) was treated with intravenous immunoglobuline, and 3/4 (75%) were treated with biologics (etanercept, tocilizumab, and adalimumab).
Conclusions: Vasculitis associated with COVID-19 could be a life-threatening condition; SARS-CoV-2 might be a new trigger or etiological agent for vasculitis and other immune-mediated diseases. Further research and collection of similar cases are required.
Keywords: COVID-19; Henoch–Schonlein purpura; Ig A vasculopathy; SARS-CoV-2; childhood vasculitis; mesenteric thrombosis; polyarteritis nodosa; real-time PCR; vasculopathy.