COVID-19 pandemic is still a massive concern in numerous countries. While some countries in Europe are currently reporting a decreased number of cases, certain countries in the Americas – the USA, Brazil, or Mexico – are still struggling with high mortality caused by SARS-CoV-2 (25.05.2020) [1].

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is affecting people of all age groups. However, groups with the highest risk of developing severe symptoms are the elderly and people with underlying severe diseases [2]. Nevertheless, media attention has recently been focused on infections reported in children [3, 4]. This is caused by growing incidents of pediatric patients with a disease called pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS) or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and adolescents [2, 5].

Originally, it was thought to be Kawasaki disease (KD) triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infections [6]. Kawasaki disease is a vasculitis affecting 0.01% of children [7]. The average occurrence of KD is around the age of two. While some symptoms are nonspecific and caused by systemic inflammation (fever, malaise, fatigue, etc.), others are unique for KD – polymorphous rash, mucosal inflammation, and extremity changes, such as erythema or edema of the hands and feet. Unfortunately, not much is known about the origin of KD, but fortunately, in most cases, symptoms can be effectively controlled using immunoglobulin therapy.

Even though PIMS shares many similarities with KD, there are reported cases of children suffering additional symptoms, e.g. hypotension and acute gastrointestinal problems, among others [2]. Furthermore, a high percentage of affected children require additional treatment after immunoglobulin therapy. Children with PIMS are also presented to be of older age than those suffering from KD and, most importantly, all test positive for SARS-CoV-2 [6].

It is still a relatively rare occurrence, as so far there are around 230 suspected cases in Europe [5]. Moreover, in the EU only 2.1% of the reported cases were children below the age of 14. Additionally, children have milder symptoms of COVID-19 [8]. Around 4.4% of children reported with COVID-19 had severe symptoms and 0.9% were in critical condition, while in adults it was 14% and 5%, respectively.

Nevertheless, it is still important to apply safety measures in accordance with the official guidelines to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also have to properly educate children about these measures as the research on the SARS-CoV-2 virus is still ongoing and there might be more unknown symptoms and complications of the infection.