SALT LAKE CITY — A cardiologist with Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital is co-leading the nation's first long-term study of MIS-C, a severe complication of COVID-19 that occurs in children.
Dr. Ngan Truong, a pediatric cardiologist at the hospital, and Dr. Jane Newburger from Boston Children’s Hospital are leading a five-year study of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrom in Children (MIS-C) at more than 30 hospitals in the United States and Canada.
“For me, the study is really exciting and necessary because parents ask me all the time in the clinic and in the hospital: 'What can we expect over time?' or 'How will my child do over time?' or 'How will my child’s heart be affected in the future?' and, unfortunately, I don’t have a clear answer for them at this point," Dr. Truong said in a news conference Tuesday morning.
An Intermountain Healthcare web page about MIS-C describes it as a life-threatening condition that can affect a child’s heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, and other organs.
"One of the most commonly affected systems is the cardiovascular system, with nearly half of MIS-C patients facing decreased heart function and low blood pressure. Leaky heart valves, fluid around the heart, and enlargement of the coronary arteries have also been reported," the web page says.
The study's organizers hope to enroll about 600 children and young adults over the next two years to analyze their heart functions and other organ functions.
The National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is funding the study.