Article Content

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children appears to be related to COVID-19. Early in the pandemic it seemed that most infants and children experienced only mild or asymptomatic cases of COVID-19. But in May, reports from Europe and North America described clusters of children and adolescents who developed a multisystem inflammatory condition leading to multiorgan failure and shock. Clinically, these illnesses resembled toxic shock syndrome or Kawasaki disease, but appeared to be related to previous mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 infection. As we go to press, risk factors for this syndrome, its full clinical presentation, and its outcomes are not yet understood. The World Health Organization offers this brief report about what is known: http://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/multisystem-inflammatory-syndro.