How do inflammatory pathways strain the cardiovascular system? Dr. Mark Gorelik provided insights into the inflammatory processes that influence heart recovery after myocardial infarction, Kawasaki disease, multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children and more.
Kawasaki Guideline Urges Treatment Intensification for Some Patients
A soon-to-be published guideline from the ACR and the Vasculitis Foundation on Kawasaki disease underscores the importance of early diagnosis and intensified treatment for people with this serious condition.1 Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) remains the treatment mainstay, and prompt, aggressive treatment may be able to reduce the risk of serious complications in some patients. The guideline…
2020 Pediatric Rheumatology Research in Review
ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—This has been a busy year for research publications covering a number of pediatric rheumatic diseases, including the emerging multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) associated with SARS CoV-2. Despite the many challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, a healthy collection of publications covering a wide range of pediatric rheumatology research topics were published…
Doctors Detail Kawasaki-Like Disease in Adult COVID-19 Patients
(Reuters Health)—During the COVID-19 pandemic, an inflammatory condition similar to Kawasaki disease has been reported in children and adolescents, and now two groups of New York doctors each describe a case, one in a 36-year-old woman and one in a 45-year-old man.1 “We’re still learning how COVID-19 is affecting children and adults. The better we…
Tomisaku Kawasaki, Pediatrician Who Discovered Disease That Bears His Name, Dies at 95
Japanese pediatrician Tomisaku Kawasaki, MD, who identified an inflammatory syndrome that affects children, died on June 5 in Tokyo. He was 95. Tenacity & Attention to Detail Born Feb. 7, 1925, in Tokyo, Dr. Kawasaki graduated from medical school at what is now Chiba University in Chiba, Japan, in 1948 and worked as staff pediatrician…
More Evidence Links Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome to SARS-CoV-2
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Two new reports in JAMA strengthen the link between SARS-CoV-2 infection and pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS). Pediatricians from several communities have reported children who developed fever and multisystem inflammation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some children were critically ill and some had characteristics similar to Kawasaki disease or Kawasaki disease shock syndrome….
Unprecedented Cluster of Hyperinflammatory Shock in Kids in U.K., possibly Linked to COVID-19
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Cases of a rare hyperinflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to novel coronavirus continue to be reported around the world. During a 10-day period in mid-April, clinicians in London treated an “unprecedented” cluster of eight children with hyperinflammatory shock, who presented to Evelina London Children’s Hospital pediatric intensive care unit (ICU), triggering…
U.S. to Tell Doctors to Report Cases of COVID-19 Inflammatory Syndrome in Kids
CHICAGO (Reuters)—On May 13, U.S. health officials said they will issue an alert telling doctors to report cases of a rare life-threatening inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19 in children to their state and local health departments. The alert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be released on Wednesday or Thursday,…
3 U.S. Children with COVID-19 Have Rare Inflammatory Syndrome
CHICAGO (Reuters)—Three U.S. children infected with the coronavirus are being treated for a rare inflammatory syndrome that appears similar to one that has raised concerns by doctors in Britain, Italy and Spain, a specialist treating the patients told Reuters. All three—who range in age from 6 months to 8 years—have undergone treatment at Columbia University…
Thinking Big, Thinking Small
I would like to tell you a story. Two, actually. I am just returning from the 19th International Vasculitis and ANCA Workshop, which is always a fascinating meeting. In its inception, it was a workshop, in the true sense of the word. Now, we discuss anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) testing as casually as we discuss…