Atypical Kawasaki syndrome in COVID-19 infection: a case report of a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a child (MIS-C)

Ghana Med J. 2021 Jun;55(2 Suppl):64-67. doi: 10.4314/gmj.v55i2s.10.

Abstract

The emergence of COVID-19 by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019 has seen evolving data reporting infrequent infection in children and mostly mild disease for children who contract the infection. A severe form of COVID-19 in children recently reported in Europe and North America describes a multisystem inflammation syndrome in children (MIS-C), presenting as toxic-shock-like and Kawasaki-like syndromes. Data on MIS-C in Africa is being documented with recent reports from South Africa and Nigeria in black children, but information on MIS-C in Ghana is yet to be characterized. We report the first case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a child who tested PCR positive to SARS-CoV2 in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. The case describes a 10-year-old boy who reported Kawasaki-like syndrome without shock but with moderate respiratory distress requiring supportive acute care without the need for intensive care.

Funding: None declared.

Keywords: COVID-19; Children; Kawasaki-like syndrome; MIS-C; SARS-CoV-2.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19* / complications
  • COVID-19* / diagnosis
  • Child
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* / complications
  • Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* / diagnosis
  • RNA, Viral
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • South Africa
  • Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome

Substances

  • RNA, Viral

Supplementary concepts

  • pediatric multisystem inflammatory disease, COVID-19 related