BENGALURU: Although most children who contract Covid are either asymptomatic or have moderate symptoms, a 14-year-old girl from Bengaluru developed life-threatening post-illness complications and has recovered. The teenager was admitted to hospital on October 14 and suffered multiple organ failure, including renal, cardiac and respiratory failure, due to Paediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome – temporarily associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS), a condition seen across the world.
When admitted, she had fever, loose stools, fatigue and respiratory distress with low saturation and altered sensorium, low blood pressure and cardiac issues. She was intubated and ventilated. Although her RT-PCR test came back negative for Covid, an antibody test suggested she had contracted the disease in the past.
Doctors at Rainbow Children’s Hospital suspected that her symptoms were due to PIMS-TS. “It is a rare, systemic illness involving persistent fever and extreme inflammation, following exposure to SARS-CoV-2. We started the child on antibiotics and antivirals,” said Dr Sridhar M, paediatric intensive care consultant.
However, she developed kidney and metabolic trouble, neuromuscular weakness and areflexia (when muscles do not respond to stimuli).
For four days, she was not fed orally due to high doses of medicines given to raise her blood pressure. Later, enteral feeds were started, and gradually, feed volume and calories were optimised, said Dr Sridhar.
“The right medications improved her blood pressure and saved her.
If a child has fever for more than three days, with rashes and breathing difficulty, parents should quickly seek medical attention. Although many people feel that children are safe from Covid, PIMS-TS requires a high index of suspicion and timely management,” Dr Sridhar said. ‘Index of suspicion’ refers to the suspicion of an unseen injury or illness, with little evidence.