In communities with high rates of coronavirus disease 2019, reports have emerged of children with an unusual syndrome of fever and inflammation. OBJECTIVES To describe the clinical and laboratory characteristics of hospitalized children who met criteria for the pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (PIMS-TS) and compare these characteristics with other pediatric inflammatory disorders. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Case series of 58 children from 8 hospitals in England admitted between March 23 and May 16, 2020, with persistent fever and laboratory evidence of inflammation meeting published definitions for PIMS-TS. The final date of follow-up was May 22, 2020. Clinical and laboratory characteristics were abstracted by medical record review, and were compared with clinical characteristics of patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) (n = 1132), KD shock syndrome (n = 45), and toxic shock syndrome (n = 37) who had been admitted to hospitals in Europe and the US from 2002 to 2019. EXPOSURES Signs and symptoms and laboratory and imaging findings of children who met definitional criteria for PIMS-TS from the UK, the US, and World Health Organization. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Clinical, laboratory, and imaging characteristics of children meeting definitional criteria for PIMS-TS, and comparison with the characteristics of other pediatric inflammatory disorders. RESULTS Fifty-eight children (median age, 9 years [interquartile range {IQR}, 5.7-14]; 20 girls [34%]) were identified who met the criteria for PIMS-TS. Results from SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction tests were positive in 15 of 58 patients (26%) and SARS-CoV-2 IgG test results were positive in 40 of 46 (87%). In total, 45 of 58 patients (78%) had evidence of current or prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. All children presented with fever and nonspecific symptoms, including vomiting (26/58 [45%]), abdominal pain (31/58 [53%]), and diarrhea (30/58 [52%]). Rash was present in 30 of 58 (52%), and conjunctival injection in 26 of 58 (45%) cases. Laboratory evaluation was consistent with marked inflammation, for example, C-reactive protein (229 mg/L [IQR, 156-338], assessed in 58 of 58) and ferritin (610 μg/L [IQR, 359-1280], assessed in 53 of 58). Of the 58 children, 29 developed shock (with biochemical evidence of myocardial dysfunction) and required inotropic support and fluid resuscitation (including 23/29 [79%] who received mechanical ventilation); 13 met the American Heart Association definition of KD, and 23 had fever and inflammation without features of shock or KD. Eight patients (14%) developed coronary artery dilatation or aneurysm. Comparison of PIMS-TS with KD and with KD shock syndrome showed differences in clinical and laboratory features, including older age (median age, 9 years [IQR, 5.7-14] vs 2.7 years [IQR, 1.4-4.7] and 3.8 years [IQR, 0.2-18], respectively), and greater elevation of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (median, 229 mg/L [IQR 156-338]...

Neurological manifestations and outcomes of children with the 2009 H1N1 virus infection have been reported in three American series and from smaller cohorts and case reports worldwide. Of the 83 children admitted between April 2009 and March 2010 with H1N1 virus infection to a tertiary children's hospital in a European setting, five children aged between 2 and 10 years had neurological symptoms. Four patients had seizures and encephalopathy at presentation. One patient presented with ataxia; one developed neuropsychiatric manifestations, and two developed movement disorders during the disease course. Early neuroimaging showed evidence of acute necrotising encephalopathy (ANE) in one case and non-specific white matter changes in another. Initial neuroimaging was normal for the other three, but interval MRI showed increased signal in bilateral periventricular distribution in one and significant cerebral volume loss in the other. Clinical outcomes varied: two recovered fully while three had residual seizures and/or significant cognitive deficits. Conclusion An analysis of our patients along with all reported cases reveal that seizures and encephalopathy were common neurological presentations associated with pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza virus infection in children requiring hospital admission. Neuroimaging suggestive of ANE, basal ganglia involvement and volume loss appears to be associated with worse neurological outcome.

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