2023 Department of Pediatrics Academic Annual Report

Hign Impact Research

Analyzing the Clinical Features and Risk Factors Associated with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children With Cancer and COVID-19

by Heather Watts

Children infected with COVID-19 are susceptible of developing multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Studies have shown that being school-aged, male, Black, and Hispanic are risk factors for developing MIS-C, but underlying comorbidities (including cancer and/or immunosuppression) have not been specifically investigated with MIS-C. Researchers, led by Julie Wolfson, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and Emily Johnston, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, analyzed the evaluated development of MIS-C among children with cancer and COVID-19, as well as the symptoms and disease severity associated with MIS-C in this population. “We wanted to understand which children with cancer and COVID-19 were more likely to develop MIS-C,” explained Johnston. “We also wanted to understand the symptoms and disease severity of MIS-C in this population.” Using the Pediatric Oncology COVID-19 Case (POCC) Report (est. March 2020), the largest US registry of children with cancer who become infected with COVID-19, the study found that children with comorbidities were more likely to develop MIS-C than those without comorbidities.

Emily Johnston, M.D

Julie Wolfson, M.D

2023 Academic Annual Report

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