COVID-19 is less contagious in children and causes milder symptoms, but it’s still unclear what caused some of them to develop a severe infection. This is what the study found.

Researchers have identified the blood clotting and immunological protein pathways that are triggered in severe COVID-19 infection in children, paving the possibility for earlier diagnosis and more tailored treatment.

The study, led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and the University of Melbourne, has identified disease mechanisms in children with COVID-19 who present with multisystem inflammatory syndrome, in which various body parts, including the heart, lungs, and brain, become inflamed, as well as acute respiratory distress syndrome, a type of lung disease.

Blood clotting and how proteins in the immune system reacted to the virus were the key triggers for severe COVID-19 in children, according to MCRI researcher and University of Melbourne PhD student Conor McCafferty.

“Children are in general less susceptible to COVID-19 and present with milder symptoms, but it remained unclear what caused some to develop very severe disease,” he says.

“Our research was the first to uncover the specific blood clotting and immune protein pathways impacted in children with COVID-19 who developed serious symptoms.”

At The Royal Children’s Hospital and the Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Greater Paris University Hospitals, blood samples from 20 healthy children and 33 SARS-CoV-2 infected children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome or acute respiratory distress syndrome were collected.

The study discovered that 85 proteins were unique to multisystem inflammatory disease and 52 proteins were unique to acute respiratory distress syndrome, respectively. Severe COVID-19 has the potential to cause both disorders.

The results, according to Mr. McCafferty, were made feasible by proteomics, an experimental approach that allowed the researchers to look at nearly 500 proteins circulating in the blood at the same time.

According to the data, 1.7 percent of reported COVID-19 hospitalized cases included admission to the Intensive Care Unit. Children with COVID-19 who present with multisystem inflammatory syndrome have clinical symptoms that are comparable to Kawasaki illness and toxic shock syndrome, such as fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, skin rash, and conjunctivitis, making diagnosis challenging.

The findings, according to MCRI Professor Vera Ignjatovic, provide insight into the processes that underpin severe COVID-19 in children, which will aid in the development of diagnostic tests for early detection of children at risk, as well as therapeutic targets to improve outcomes for those with severe cases.

“Knowing the mechanisms associated with severe COVID-19 in children and how the blood clotting and immune systems in children react to the virus will help diagnose and detect acute COVID-19 cases and allow us to develop targeted treatment,” she adds. 

Image Credit: Getty

You were reading: Blood test reveals why some kids develop severe COVID leading to blood clots and inflammation