Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) can affect children (MIS-C) and adults (MIS-A). CDC is working with state, local, and territorial health departments to learn more about MIS associated with COVID-19. This is a rare but serious condition in which different body parts become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
Patients with MIS-C may present with a persistent fever and various symptoms, including abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash, mucocutaneous lesions and, in severe cases, with hypotension and shock. They have elevated laboratory markers of inflammation (e.g., CRP, ferritin), and most patients have laboratory markers of damage to the heart (e.g., troponin; B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) or proBNP). Not all children will have the same signs and symptoms, and some children may have symptoms not listed here. MIS-C may begin weeks after a child is infected with SARS-CoV-2. The child may have been infected from an asymptomatic contact and, in some cases, the child and their caregivers may not even know they had been infected. Like children, adults who have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 can develop symptoms of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Adults (MIS-A) days to weeks after getting sick. We are still learning about MIS-A and how it affects adults, so we do not know why some adults have gotten sick with MIS-A and others have not. Currently, there have been no studies comparing clinical efficacy of various treatment options. Treatments have consisted primarily of supportive care and directed care against the underlying inflammatory process and all recommendations are based on the best data and science available at the time.
