There is a possible link between Covid antibodies in children and longer recoveries from other non-associated illnesses.
Doctors across the city have been observing intermittent cases of children with typhoid, dengue and seizures, who are experiencing severe and longer illnesses.
In the last month, Aster RV alone saw six such cases of seizure in children, two of typhoid, two of dengue, and two or three wheezing cases requiring escalation of care. In a paediatric case of septic shock that did not get resolved with standard care, doctors incidentally found the patient to be seropositive.
"There appears to be some immune dysregulation specifically in Covid Ab (antibody) positive children that the regular tropical infections are having an altered course of illness," said Dr Sujatha Thyagarajan, Lead of the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICUs) at Aster RV Hospital in JP Nagar, who has been observing this worrying trend in her paediatric patients.
Concerned, when she reached out to paediatric intensivists across the country, they said they have also been observing intermittent cases of children who are coming to the hospital with other health problems and are experiencing longer recovery.
In these children, the seropositivity test showed the presence of Covid antibodies. "There is no defined, established link yet between the two. However, this phenomenon has been observed in PICUs across the country, suggesting that it needs to be looked into," she said.
Such observations are making doctors think laterally, and consider trying out treatments like those given for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MISC) in certain select cases, which showed significant improvement in children.
"Routine treatment is sufficient for most. A few require additional treatment for MISC," she added.
Another alarming trend is that of parents delaying treatment even though the children are symptomatic of an illness, due to which easily treatable nutrient deficiencies are becoming severe requiring PICU admissions.
"Sometimes simple illnesses that could have been treated easily are turning out to be long-drawn affairs in the hospital, sometimes even requiring ICU visits. Children with iron and Vitamin B12 deficiency have been observed to have a drop in haemoglobin, white cell count and platelets. Such cases could have been identified early had parents taken them for regular pediatric visits," she said.
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