‘MIS’—It’s Not Just for Kids Anymore

Having been lulled into a fall sense of safety when it came to children and COVID-19, it came as a shock to the general public when word started to spread about multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). It’s probably less shocking, but perhaps just as frightening, then, to learn that MIS appears to strike adults with the virus. The concern about this revelation—besides caring for the individual patient who’s affected—is that this has occurred under the radar of most clinicians, so far, and MIS-A will go undiagnosed. Symptoms reported in confirmed cases include circular red patches on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, chapped lips, systemic inflammation, fever, chest pain, and diarrhea or other gastrointestinal issues. While there have been more than a thousand cases of MIS-C—including 20 deaths—cases of MIS-A number in the 30s so far. It’s important for urgent care providers to know that this likely does not reflect the actual number of patients who have had or who will develop MIS-A, as heightened awareness is expected to uncover more cases. Like COVID-19 itself, there’s no treatment for MIS-A.