A study of the Kawasaki-like illness seen in some children during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that the immune system is profoundly altered during acute illness but gradually returns to normal.

The disease, known in the UK and US* as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), is distinct from both COVID-19 and Kawasaki disease, but is associated with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, an immunological profiling study suggests.

As reported in Nature Medicine, UK doctors performed peripheral leukocyte phenotyping for 25 children (median age, 12.5 years, 60% boys) with MIS-C.

Of those 25 patients, 10 were seen in the acute, resolution and convalescent phases of the disease with their final evaluation at their first outpatient appointment post-illness.