NEW ORLEANS—The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light the interplay of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the immune systems of infected patients. Acute autoimmune manifestations of COVID-19, such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and myocarditis, clearly exist. A session at the 2023 Pediatric Rheumatology Symposium, Autoantibodies in COVID-19 explored this topic in detail, including a…
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.
During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in Washington, D.C., we were asked to evaluate a 14-year-old boy admitted to the pediatric hospitalist service. He had been healthy until two weeks before, when he noted a sore throat, and soon after he developed fevers and rashes without congestion, shortness of breath, conjunctivitis or swollen lymph…
ACR Convergence 2021—The Pediatric Rheumatology Year in Review began with a fascinating talk by Mara Becker, MD, MSCE, a professor of Pediatrics and vice chair of faculty at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C. Dr. Becker began by describing her search strategy to select high-yield clinical science publications in pediatric rheumatology from the past…
New concepts in autoimmunity & immunology are being discovered daily in research being conducted to understand the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its implications for rheumatology & all fields of medicine. Here are some insights shared by experts during day 1 of the Basic and Clinical Research Conference.
The Basic and Clinical Research Conference session on Rheumatology Complications of Emerging Viral Infections/SARS-CoV-2 presented findings from numerous studies that help explain some of the idiosyncrasies of COVID-19.
PRSYM 2021—Although primary COVID-19 infection has the most significant complications in adult patients, pediatric rheumatologists have also seen significant changes in their practice over the past year. With the emergence of COVID-19, the rise of a mysterious post-COVID hyperinflammatory syndrome, now known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), was identified, and pediatric rheumatologists have…
We are now a year-and-a-half into the COVID‑19 pandemic, and rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals are still facing some of the same challenges that began in spring 2020, as well as new ones. Most recently, we learned that COVID‑19 vaccine efficacy is reduced in some patients on immunosuppressive therapies and the need for additional immunization is…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A six-month assessment of children with pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19 disease (PIMS-TS) show generally favorable outcomes, but also a range of lingering issues. Cardiac, gastrointestinal, renal, hematology and otolaryngology problems largely resolved at six months, but muscular fatigue and emotional lability were common. Long-term, serious end-organ damage occurred…
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…