Oklahoma Doctors Seeing More Cases Of Dangerous COVID-19 Side Effect In Kids

Doctors at OU Health said they are seeing more and more cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.

The condition is considered a side effect of COVID-19 and causes different body parts to become inflamed including the heart, lungs and kidneys.

The doctors with OU Children's told News 9 the condition is still rare to the general public, but their hospital has now seen about two dozen children with MIS-C. As the COVID-19 cases increase, the doctors think they are seeing an increase in the condition as well. 

Alyssa Stoops and Lauren Roach learned quickly the impact MIS-C could have on kids. 

Stoops's 8-year-old Lexi was a healthy child who had been exposed to COVID-19 in October. Stoops, herself, had the virus, and she assumed her whole family was positive. Stoops also assumed everyone had recovered and seemed fine. 

One morning, Lexi felt nauseous and then quickly went downhill. After days of seeing doctor after doctor in the Prague area with no answers, Lexi had to be taken by ambulance to OU Children's.

"She was admitted in the ICU," said Stoops. "She was put on a ventilator and sedated for about five days."

Roach's 3-year-old Jentry avoided the ICU, but still had major problems. 

Weeks prior, Jentry caught COVID-19 but had a very minor reaction to the virus. Her fever disappeared in just 24 hours. When Jentry developed MIS-C, she had a high fever that wouldn't go away and a rash all over her body. 

Roach also went from doctor to doctor in the Kingfisher area, before deciding she needed to bring her little girl to OU. 

MIS-C can be deadly, but both girls received treatments. Since MIS-C is so new, doctors with OU Health said it's common for health professionals in rural areas to not recognize what they're dealing with. 

"So MIS-C was not even recognized as an entity until March," said Dr. Donna Tyungu with OU Health. "So at a central place where we see lots of lots of children, we will get experience before a rural hospital."

Right now, doctors are still learning about COVID-19 and MIS-C, so they don't know the long-term effects of having the condition.

Tyungu said the best way to protect children making sure they wear a mask, wash their hands and social distance. 

Both families told New 9 they will be following up with a cardiologist and other specialists to monitor their child. 

According to the most recent data from the CDC, there have been over 1600 kids in the U.S. that have developed MIS-C. The data provided is from about 10 days ago, and seems to lack some of the cases doctors in Oklahoma told News 9 they've seen.

The CDC said the symptoms parents should look for include: 

1. Fever
2. Abdominal pain
3. Vomiting
4. Diarrhea
5. Neck pain
6. Rash
7. Bloodshot eyes
8. Feeling extra tired

For more information, click here to head to the CDC's official page on MIS-C.