HJNO Jul/Aug 2020

48 JUL / AUG 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS COLUMN CHILDREN’S HEALTH KIDS, COVID-19, AND MIS-C AS ONE OF THE FIRST and worst affected cities in the U.S., the Greater New Orleans community was on the forefront of treat- ing patients infected with coronavirus. Consistent with what other countries had experienced, it seemed the pediatric popu- lation was minimally affected, with reports of mild symptoms in otherwise healthy children. Then, in late April, this notion changed when the United Kingdom first reported cases of a severe inflammatory syndrome with “Kawasaki disease-like features.” Later named Multisystem Inflammato- ry Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), the illness is believed to be linked to a previ- ous COVID-19 infection occurring weeks before. Now, hospitals across the United States, including Louisiana, have reported children suffering with MIS-C. While Multisystem Inflammatory Syn- At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, and here in Louisiana, little was known about how the virus affects children.