Staff at Evelina London children’s hospital are raising awareness of a rare condition that children can get after catching Covid-19.
Paediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (PIMS-TS) is a rare condition in children and young people that is thought to be triggered by COVID-19. The condition is most easily treated if caught early.
A five-year-old girl called Evelyn was rushed to Evelina London near Waterloo with PIMS-TS last autumn.
Her Mum Eugenia, 42, said: “Evelyn caught COVID-19 towards the end of September, but luckily she wasn’t too ill, she just had a temperature overnight. It wasn’t until several weeks later when she developed new symptoms that got worse over four or five days that I thought this might be quite serious.”
“My husband took her to our local A&E thinking she might have meningitis as she was complaining of sore tummy, a sensitive head and eyes and she had a very high temperature that wasn’t coming down. Over the following days she began vomiting and had diarrhoea and was feeling itchy with a rash on her hands and feet. We later noticed she had bloodshot eyes too. She was taken by the South Thames Retrieval Service to Evelina London and diagnosed with PIMS-TS”.
She was looked after in the paediatric intensive care unit at Evelina London for three days before going back home to finish recovering.
Eugenia said: “By the time we got to Evelina London, Evelyn had an enlarged heart, inflammation in one of her main veins and had developed a rash across her body. It was really scary to see how unwell she had become so quickly.
“Watching Evelyn become so ill and not knowing the reason why was so scary. When we got the diagnosis of PIMS it was a relief but it bought with it its own worries and fears due to the fact that it can potentially be a very serious condition.”
Evelyn has since made a full recovery from PIMS-TS.
The ten-year-old daughter of Southwark’s Cllr Jasmine Ali was hospitalised with the symptoms of the post-Covid condition Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome (PIMS) before Christmas, although a diagnosis was inconclusive.
She was in the high-dependency unit at King’s College Hospital, an experience that Cllr Ali called “terrifying”, although her daughter had “fantastic” care and is much better now.
Evelina London was among the first in the world to report PIMS-TS as a new condition in April 2020, helping other countries to also successfully treat it. Since the condition was discovered, Evelina London has treated almost 300 patients from across London and south east England.
Dr Jenny Handforth, consultant in paediatric infectious diseases at Evelina London, added: “While children and young people typically get mild symptoms with COVID-19, those who get PIMS-TS usually require hospital treatment as it is a serious condition. The patients we’ve cared for with PIMS-TS have responded very well to hospital treatment, and we continue to monitor them after discharge with regular check-ups.
“So while this illness is rare, it’s something we need families to be aware of so they know what to look out for and when to contact a health professional if they are worried about their child.”
Symptoms of PIMS-TS can include:
· A prolonged fever (higher than 38C)
· Tummy ache
· Diarrhoea and / or vomiting
· Widespread red rash
· red bloodshot eyes, strawberry red tongue, or red cracked lips
· Swelling of fingers and toes
· Not feeling or acting like themselves.
If your child has any of the following symptoms, call your GP or NHS 111 for advice. If your child develops chest pain, please call 999 immediately.