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Maja died on the night of November 23-24. She was only six years old. After the girl’s death, many questions arose, and the case is being investigated by investigators from the Łódź prosecutor’s office. The autopsy will provide certainty as to the cause of the child’s death, it is possible that it was a “electrifying course of the multisystem inflammatory syndrome PIMS”. Doctors have long alarmed that this is a directly life-threatening condition. Why is it so dangerous as it causes symptoms?
- Six-year-old Maja died at the end of November. “The cause of death will be known after the procedures are completed, but there is a suspicion of a fulminant course of the PIMS multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection” – cites the letter of the hospital in Kutno, the service kutno.net.pl
- PIMS may occur not only as a result of a severe, but also very mild or asymptomatic course of COVID-19
- Doctors have been reminding for months that PIMS poses a direct threat to a child’s life. This complication can lead to tragic cardiovascular failure and myocarditis
- – I would like to reassure people who are concerned that they will miss PIMS in their child that it is virtually impossible. This disease has a very turbulent course and numerous symptoms – says pediatrician Dr. Magdalena Okarska-Napierała
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
Death of XNUMX-year-old Maja. «Suspicion of an electrifying course of PIMS»
Everything happened in just a few days. Maja’s health problems began in the evening of November 19 – informs kutno.net.pl. The child died on the night of November 23-24.
The initial symptoms did not predict such a tragic course of events. The girl complained of pain in the left side of her neck. Then stains appeared on her legs. Maja lost her appetite, drank less and less water, complained of pain in her legs, and the temperature exceeded 39 degrees Celsius. The baby was getting weaker and weaker. «She wasn’t even able to go to the toilet», remembers her mother (za kutno.net.pl). According to the portal, the test for COVID-19 gave a negative result.
Maja found herself in a hospital ward in Kutno, then – after a series of tests – she went to the Intensive Care Unit of the Łódź hospital. – I stayed at the door. After an hour or so, the doctor came to see me and said that my child had been resuscitated for an hour. After a dozen or so minutes, I was given sedatives and I was led to the room, where my daughter was still being resuscitated. The child died on the night of November 23-24, the girl’s mother recalls.
The autopsy results will bring the cause of Maja’s death, but it is possible that the child died from PIMS, a complication following SARS-CoV-2 infection. “The cause of death will be known after the procedures are completed, but there is a suspicion of a fulminant course of the PIMS multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, which was taken into account in the course of diagnostics in the department” – informs the Kutno Local Government Hospital in a letter published by kutno.net .pl. According to the portal, the girl’s relatives have doubts as to whether everything was done in Kutno to make the child recover. The case was referred to the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Łódź. The hospital in Kutno “declares full transparency of documentation and readiness to cooperate with relevant institutions”, we read in the aforementioned letter.
In the document, the hospital in Kutno admits: “due to the current epidemic situation, we are concerned that there may be more and more cases of the PIMS syndrome in the near future”.
PIMS is a direct threat to a child’s life. It has a spectacular course
Doctors have long reminded that PIMS poses a direct threat to the life of a child. What is it really?
PIMS (Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome) is a multi-system inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19. This complication develops in children a few weeks (usually four) after infection with SARS-CoV-2. What’s more, it can also occur after a very mild or asymptomatic course of infection.
– PIMS is a generalized inflammation that damages various tissues and organs – explains Dr. Magdalena Okarska-Napierała. The disease is manifested by high fever, oscillating around 39-40 degrees Celsius, which is usually accompanied by severe pain in the abdomen, head, neck, throat, diarrhea and vomiting. The rash can appear anywhere on the body. The inflammatory syndrome is also manifested by conjunctivitis, chapped lips, swelling of the hands and feet, and severe weakness. – The child looks seriously ill and feels worse every day. These children most often go to the hospital between the fourth and sixth day of symptoms – says Okarska-Napierała. In more severe cases, the cardiovascular system may be involved, including failure, damage to blood vessels, and myocarditis – these are life-threatening complications.
PIMS is a disease that generally has a very spectacular course. This is a complication that is hard to overlook. – I would like to reassure those people who are concerned that they will miss PIMS in their child that it is virtually impossible. This disease has a very turbulent course and numerous symptoms – emphasizes the specialist. – The second reassuring information is that this complication is really rare – says Dr. Okarska-Napierała. She said that based on data from the United States – where they have the richest experience with the disease – it is estimated that PIMS will develop in one in three thousand. infected children.
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Suspicion of PIMS. When is it necessary to see a doctor urgently?
There is also less optimistic information. – We are at the beginning of another wave of PIMS in Poland – warned Dr. Magdalena Okarska-Napierała in mid-December. The expert noted that she was saying this based on her own observation in the hospital. – Recently, about 15 children with PIMS have been admitted to our hospital and there are more of them every day – she said. – We are now dealing with another wave, but we cannot predict its size. – If a child starts to have a high fever, becomes weak, symptoms appear from various systems and organs, it is necessary to urgently see a doctor – emphasizes the pediatrician.
The therapy undertaken in the case of PIMS is immunomodulating, i.e. modifying the functioning of the immune system. – To put it simply, it consists in extinguishing a fire which is a cytokine storm – explains Dr. Okarska-Napierała. “Right now, the two most important drugs that are used causally to stop the inflammation process are intravenous immunoglobulin infusion (IVIG), and glucocorticosteroids.” Some children only need immunoglobulin treatment, in approx. 60% children still need glucocorticosteroids.
The pediatrician notes that the vast majority of children recover very quickly after receiving these drugs. – Very quickly, which means that they usually feel much better within a week, and they usually leave the hospital in full health.
As Dr. Okarska-Napierała points out, about 500 cases of PIMS have been registered in Poland, although “there were certainly some more of them”. – PIMS cases were coming in waves, similar to what was observed in Western countries. We had the first, very high PIMS wave at the turn of November and December 2020. Then there was the second, winter-spring wave – despite incomplete data, I can say with high probability that it was lower – she said.
– It is also possible that this PIMS incidence will decrease over time. Such a phenomenon is observed in the United States: there is a PIMS wave for each covid wave, but the ratio of the number of PIMS cases to the number of COVID cases decreases with each wave. We do not know why this is so, but it is good news – emphasizes the expert.
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