HealthDay Reports: In Rare Cases, COVID-19 May Be Causing Severe Heart Condition in Kids
In very rare cases, some kids with COVID-19 in Europe have developed Kawasaki disease, a rare heart condition that has symptoms that overlap with those of COVID-19.
In Rare Cases, COVID-19 May Be Causing Severe Heart Condition in Kids
WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Children don't typically fall seriously ill from the new coronavirus, but doctors are raising the alarm that some kids with COVID-19 infections in Europe have developed Kawasaki disease, a condition that can trigger serious heart problems.
Children in the United States aren't immune to this complication, experts say.
Dr. Michael Portman is director of the Kawasaki Disease Patient Program at Seattle Children's Hospital. He said, "The problem is that the symptoms of COVID-19 and Kawasaki disease overlap, and we're worried that parents of kids who have a fever may not want to bring them into the hospital for fear of COVID, but it could be Kawasaki disease and it won't get treated."
In addition, he explained that parents of children diagnosed with COVID-19 may not worry much about a fever if other symptoms aren't obvious, but "in children, COVID may be triggering an inflammatory response that doctors would call Kawasaki disease," Portman explained.