ABSTRACT
Background: The MELODY system allows for performing ultrasonography on a patient remotely and has been proposed to assess disease characteristics in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The aim of this interventional crossover study was to address the feasibility of the system in children aged 1 to 10 years old. Methods: Children underwent ultrasonography with a telerobotic ultrasound system followed by a second conventional examination by a different sonographer. Results: In total, 38 children were enrolled, and 76 examinations were performed, with 76 scans analyzed. The mean [standard deviation (SD)] age of participants was 5.7 (2.7) years (range, 1-10 years). We found substantial agreement between telerobotic and conventional ultrasonography [κ=0.74 (95% CI: 0.53-0.94), P<0.005]. The mean (SD) duration was longer for telerobotic than conventional examinations [26.0 (2.5) vs. 13.9 (11.2) min, P<0.0001]. Abdominal organs and abnormalities were similarly visualized on telerobotic and conventional ultrasonography. Cardiac echocardiography provided reliable diagnoses, with non-significantly different measurements with both techniques, although the visualization score was significantly higher with conventional than telerobotic ultrasonography (P<0.05). On lung analysis, both examinations identified consolidations and pleural effusion, whereas visualization and total lung score were similar with the 2 techniques. Overall, 45% of parents reported that their children felt less pressure with the telerobotic system. Conclusions: Telerobotic ultrasonography may be effective, feasible, and well-tolerated in children.
ABSTRACT
AIM: This study determined the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the occurrence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and compared the main characteristics of MIS-C and Kawasaki disease (KD). METHODS: We included patients aged up to 18 years of age who were diagnosed with MIS-C or KD in a paediatric university hospital in Paris from 1 January 2018 to 15 July 2020. Clinical, laboratory and imaging characteristics were compared, and new French COVID-19 cases were correlated with MIS-C cases in our hospital. RESULTS: There were seven children with MIS-C, from 6 months to 12 years of age, who were all positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, and 40 virus-negative children with KD. Their respective characteristics were as follows: under 5 years of age (14.3% vs. 85.0%), paediatric intensive care unit admission (100% vs. 10.0%), abdominal pain (71.4% vs. 12.5%), myocardial dysfunction (85.7% vs. 5.0%), shock syndrome (85.7% vs. 2.5%) and mean and standard deviation C-reactive protein (339 ± 131 vs. 153 ± 87). There was a strong lagged correlation between the rise and fall in MIS-C patients and COVID-19 cases. CONCLUSION: The rise and fall of COVID-19 first wave mirrored the MIS-C cases. There were important differences between MIS-C and KD.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/epidemiology , Adolescent , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/therapy , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , France/epidemiology , Hospitalization , Hospitals, Pediatric , Hospitals, University , Humans , Infant , Male , Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome/diagnosis , Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/diagnosis , Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome/therapyABSTRACT
This case series examines cardiac MRI findings in four children and adolescents admitted to intensive care in April 2020 for multisystem inflammatory syndrome and Kawasaki disease-like features related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Acute myocarditis occurred less than 1 week after onset of fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. Physical examination showed rash and cheilitis or conjunctivitis. All patients recovered after intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was negative in nasopharyngeal, stool, and respiratory samples and was positive on serology. Cardiac MRI showed diffuse myocardial edema on T2 short tau inversion-recovery sequences and native T1 mapping, with no evidence of late gadolinium enhancement suggestive of replacement fibrosis or focal necrosis. These findings favor postinfectious myocarditis in children and adolescents with COVID-19.