Mis-C: Rare, possibly life-threatening condition affecting children could be linked to COVID-19

Thirteen children in Florida have developed a rare, and possibly life-threatening, condition called multi-system inflammatory syndrome, or Mis-C.

Doctors involved in a recent study said 200 children nationwide with Mis-C believe the syndrome is somehow linked to COVID-19, either as a symptom of the virus or a post-infection complication.

“(It’s) where your immune system somehow is responding in an abnormal way which is dangerous and causing an immune dysfunction, where things are out of whack and now it’s affecting multiple organs,” said Dr. Adrienne Randolph with Boston Children’s Hospital.

Randolph said most children had four or more organ systems inflamed all at once. Most critically, she said: “Their heart wasn’t pumping well enough.”

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Most of the Florida children with Mis-C are under the age of 10, with the youngest being just a year old.

Dr. Marcos Mestre, senior medical director of Pediatric Services at, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami said many of the children with Mis-C were treated there.

He said common signs to watch out for include:

• A fever that won’t go away for days
• Rash
• Redness of the eyes
• Swelling of the hands and feet
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Gastrointestinal symptoms

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But there is good news, Mestre said.

“Once they’re here, the kids do very well, so I try to reassure the parents that with the right treatment and doing it in the appropriate timeframe, the children will respond very well,” he said.

Doctors said we could see more cases of Mis-C soon, because those tend to peak about three weeks after a peak of COVID-19 cases among adults.

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