Frontiers in Medicine (Aug 2021)

Case Report: Hyperinflammatory Status in an Immunocompromised Child With a Highly Sustained Viral Load of SARS-CoV-2

  • Matias Moragas,
  • Sandra Gomez,
  • María Florencia Fernández,
  • Marcelo Dario Golemba,
  • Marcela Palladino,
  • Daniela Borgnia,
  • Silvina Ruvinsky,
  • Lidia Fraquelli,
  • Ana Buchovsky,
  • Rosa Bologna,
  • Andrea Mangano

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.675282
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading throughout the world. Limited data are available for the dynamics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral load (VL) in immunocompromised pediatric patients. Here, we report the clinical characteristics and the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 VL of a pediatric patient with acute myeloid leukemia who developed a hyperinflammatory status mimicked MIS-C. The clinical course was characterized by the late onset of fever, GI symptoms, rash, and respiratory distress, including oxygen requirement with sustained VL of SARS-CoV-2 around 7 log10 RNA copies/mL for 6 weeks. It is important to note that the hyperinflammatory status developed early at the third week of hospitalization—in a context of high VL and immunocompromised status. All these characteristics make this clinical case unique. On the other hand, while many reports have characterized the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 VL in adults and immunocompetent hosts, it remains unreported in pediatrics—even less in immunosuppressed children.

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