multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children

noun

variants or less commonly multisystem inflammatory syndrome

: an uncommon, sometimes life-threatening, inflammatory condition that chiefly affects children and adolescents and usually develops two to four weeks following infection with or exposure to the coronavirus causing COVID-19

Note: The typical symptoms of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children are fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash, fatigue, headache, conjunctivitis, hypotension, and redness or swelling of the hands, feet, tongue or lips. Severe complications may include cardiac dysfunction, myocarditis, coronary artery dilatation or aneurysm, acute kidney damage, or shock.

Children's National Hospital is treating 23 children for an inflammatory syndrome associated with covid-19, a hospital spokesperson said Wednesday night. The illness, known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, is a recently discovered complication from the novel coronavirus.

—Fenit Nirappil and Ann E. Marimow

The syndrome bears a resemblance to Kawasaki disease, another rare inflammatory syndrome that occurs in young children. But multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children has been reported to occur in children older than this.

—Ian Richardson

The medical condition, known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, is a rare but potentially deadly medical condition typically affecting multiple organs—including the heart, kidneys, brain, among others—that has been detected in children or young adults up to 21 years of age who are believed to have had COVID-19 or been exposed to it, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.

—Andy East

One rare but serious complication children can develop from a coronavirus infection is known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, and at least 570 cases have been reported, the CDC said. As the pandemic continues, health care providers should be on the lookout for the syndrome that most commonly causes abdominal pain, vomiting and a skin rash.

—Madeline Holcombe and Dakin Andone

—abbreviation MIS-C

called also pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, PMIS

Examples of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There were no reports of myocarditis or pericarditis (inflammation of the heart and surrounding tissue) or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). —Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 13 Sep. 2023

That included not only COVID-19’s general contagiousness compared to flu viruses, but also its ability to cause clotting problems in the veins and arteries, result in loss of smell and/or taste, and even lead to a rare multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. —Carolyn Barber, Fortune, 14 Dec. 2023

Children and teenagers who previously had multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, known as MIS-C, may be more likely to have neurological and mental health issues than those who did not, a recent study suggests. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

2020, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children

noun

variants also multisystem inflammatory syndrome

: an uncommon, sometimes life-threatening, inflammatory condition that chiefly affects children and adolescents and usually develops two to four weeks following infection with or exposure to the coronavirus causing COVID-19

Note: The typical symptoms of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children are fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash, fatigue, headache, conjunctivitis, hypotension, and redness or swelling of the hands, feet, tongue or lips. Severe complications may include cardiac dysfunction, myocarditis, coronary artery dilatation or aneurysm, acute kidney damage, or shock.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children associated with SARS-CoV-2 led to serious and life-threatening illness in previously healthy children and adolescents.

—Leora R. Feldstein et al., The New England Journal of Medicine

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, is a condition in which different body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys or the brain, become inflamed.

—Naseem S. Miller, Orlando (Florida) Sentinel

—abbreviation MIS-C

called also pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, PMIS