132-20 | Characterization of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (CHARMS) and its relationship to Kawasaki Disease (KD)

Beginning in mid-March 2020, pediatricians in communities in Western Europe, the UK, and the Eastern U.S. that had been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic noted an increased number of children presenting with fever and evidence of severe inflammation who required admission to intensive care.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert and named the new condition Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). Many of these patients shared clinical features with Kawasaki disease (KD), an illness characterized by fever and inflammation of blood vessels that supply the heart muscle (coronary arteries).  This study will focus on collection of clinical data and patient samples from children with MIS-C and KD to understand the relationship between these two conditions.