Background: Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MISC) is a phenomenon that appeared in children infected with or exposed to SARS-CoV-2. The typical onset of MISC is 4-6 weeks following SARS-CoV-2 infection and is formulated to be due to an immune response. Methods: Our study retrospectively analyzed data from a tertiary center in UAE of MISC patients who were admitted to either general pediatric wards or pediatric intensive care (PICU) or who came exclusively for follow-up (post PICU admission) from May 2020 to August 2021.   Results: The total sample size is 50 patients and the study included a comparison of PICU admissions with none PICU admissions. The PICU sample size was 18 patients, 50% females, with mean age of 8.3 years all were previously healthy. PICU patients had deranged blood counts with a lower hemoglobin count, a more pronounced lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia along with hypoalbuminemia. PICU patients presented with relatively higher inflammatory markers: CRP, PCT, ferritin and D-dimer. Immunological studies were significantly higher for IL-6 levels in PICU patients. On echocardiography, higher myocardial dysfunction was more notable in patients admitted to PICU. Children admitted in PICU were provided with more extensive therapy. As part of our study course, we re-evaluated our PICU patients twice, once at 48 hours post PICU admission and again 4-6 weeks after discharge from the hospital. No deaths have been recorded in the cohort. Conclusion: This study evaluated risk factors of MISC and potential severity features. Follow up of patients on discharge showed improvement across all domains.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global havoc with our limited understanding of the SARS-CoV-2, disease manifestations and management. Inadequacy of available data in pediatric patients coupled with evolving disease course makes it imperative to conduct a meta-analysis assessing the results of pediatric COVID-19 studies over the course of the pandemic. Methods: A random-effect meta-analysis was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. Two databases were screened for pediatric COVID-19 studies and selected articles reviewed for demographic, co-morbidities, clinical manifestations, laboratory and radiological evaluation, treatment and outcomes. Prevalence with mean and 95% confidence interval was calculated. Results: Out of 1703 articles, 37 articles comprising of 993 patients for a period of over six months and 72 variables were selected. This meta-analysis revealed that one-fourth of patients were asymptomatic (23.8%, 95% CI 17.6-31.2%) Fever (52.5%, 95% CI 45.7–59.1%) and cough (47.6%, 95% CI 41.2–54.0%) were the most common symptoms. The most frequently encountered white blood count abnormalities were neutropenia (16.6%, 95% CI 10.2-25.8%), lymphocytosis (15.3%, 95% CI 9.9–23.0%) and leukopenia (13.9%, 95% CI 10.1–18.8%). Ground glass opacities were the most common radiological finding of children with COVID-19 (35.9%, 95% CI 29.4-43%).  The hospitalization rate was 95.9% (95% CI 91.9-98.0%) of which 11.2% (95% CI 4.7-24.2) were ICU admissions, and 4.2% (95% CI 2.6-6.9%) died. Conclusion: Majority of pediatric patients are asymptomatic or have mild manifestations similar to other upper respiratory viruses. Serious disease and death occurred in 15.4%. More studies are needed from a wider geographic area as the pandemic continues.