Echocardiographic Findings in Children with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome from Initial Presentation to the First Years after Discharge

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate clinical and echocardiographic features of the children diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection and determine early and mid-term cardiovascular outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 38 children who were diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in our hospital between November 2020 and November 2021. Cardiovascular evaluations were performed during hospitalization, at the first, the second, and the third months after discharge, and then cardiac evaluation was repeated at 3-month intervals until a median of 24 weeks (range: 9-56 weeks). RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 9.6 years and 25 patients had cardiovascular involvement. Echocardiography showed that there was left ventricular dysfunction in 11 cases and any coronary abnormalities in 11 cases on admission. Cardiovascular involvement was most frequently seen in patients older than 10 years and of male sex. Severe clinical courses occurred in half of them. The mortality rate was 2.6% during hospitalization. At discharge, complete recovery was achieved in 30 cases and partial recovery was seen in 6 cases; there were 1 case with ventricular dysfunction and 5 cases with coronary abnormalities. At the last polyclinic visit, there was no case with symptoms or myocardial dysfunction, there was only 1 case with persisting coronary aneurysms. CONCLUSION: Cardiovascular abnormalities in patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome show rapid resolution within the first month. We recommend long-term follow-up evaluation for coronary arteries.