Research published Tuesday in Radiology highlights follow-up findings from abdominal ultrasounds of pediatric patients diagnosed with the still very mysterious Inflammatory Multi-System Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, information regarding MIS-C is still somewhat elusive. Previous studies have examined the initial ultrasound findings of MIS-C patients but little information exists about how the syndrome might manifest long-term. Follow-up imaging is crucial to understanding this.
“The expected duration of sonographic bowel inflammation is an important clinical question as it could contribute to counseling of patients and carers on the predicted timeline of symptoms. Knowing the expected duration also could guide clinicians and radiologists involved in the further management of patients with PIMS-TS as protracted bowel inflammation may require further investigation,” Riwa Meshaka, with the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, and co-authors explained.
For the study, researchers compared the initial ultrasound findings to follow-up imaging in children diagnosed with MIS-C. This included the retrospective examination of 140 patients who presented with suspected MIS-C between April 2020 and June 2021.
Of those patients, 120 were confirmed to have the inflammatory syndrome and 102 of them underwent ultrasound. Abnormal findings were noted in 84% of patients on initial presentation. The most common finding was ascites (65/102), followed by mesenteric inflammation (16/102) and bowel wall thickening (14/102).
Patients who followed up two months post-discharge reported a reduction in symptoms, but clinical features were still present on some imaging. Ascites were noted in 15% of patients (down from 64%), as well as enlarged kidneys (11%, down from 17%), spleen (7%, down from 11%) and liver (7%, down from 9%).
These numbers continued to decrease after the 2 month follow-up, the experts noted. “All other nonspecific features of systemic inflammation also resolved at follow-up ultrasound performed at more than two months after discharge. The incidence of abdominal symptoms decreased over time, from 83% at presentation to 30% at 6-week clinical follow-up, and 13% at 6 month follow-up.”
You can read the full study in Radiology.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.