Pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS) is a new entity in children, likely associated with previous coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) infection. Most of the reports about PIMS come from countries particularly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to investigate the nature of inflammatory syndromes in Poland (country with low COVID-19 prevalence) and to perceive the emergence of PIMS in our country. On 25 May 2020, we launched a nationwide survey of inflammatory syndromes in children for retrospective (since 4 March 2020) and prospective data collection. Up to 28 July, 39 reported children met the inclusion criteria. We stratified them according to age (<5 and ≥ 5 years old) and COVID-19 status. The majority of children had clinical and laboratory features of Kawasaki disease, probably non-associated with COVID-19. However, children ≥5 years of age had PIMS characteristics, and nine children had COVID-19 confirmation. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of the PIMS register from a country with a low COVID-19 prevalence, and it proves that PIMS may emerge in any area involved in the COVID-19 pandemic. In a context of limited COVID-19 testing availability, other risk factors of PIMS, e.g., older age, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory syndromes in children.

Background: Despite the growing literature on multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), the data in European White population is limited. Our aim was to capture MIS-C emergence in Poland (central Europe) and to describe its characteristics with a focus on severity determinants. Methods: Patients who met the MIS-C definition (fever, multiorgan failure, inflammation, and proven SARS-CoV-2 infection or contact) were reported retrospectively and prospectively in an online survey. Study definitions fulfilment was automatically evaluated by a dedicated software. For the assessment of univariate relationships, either directed or divided by sex, age, or disease severity, we used the test for two categorical variables and the Kruskal-Wallis test for categorical-continuous variable pairs. Findings: The analysis involved 274 children, 62.8% boys, median age 8.8 years. Besides one Asian, all were European White. Merely 23 (8.4%) required paediatric intensive care treatment (PICU). They were older (11.2 vs. 8.4 years), and at hospital admission had higher respiratory rate (30 v. 20/minute), lower systolic blood pressure (89 vs. 100 mmHg), prolonged capillary refill time (40% vs. 11%), and decreased consciousness (22% vs. 5%). Teenage boys had more common cardiac involvement (fraction 25.9% vs. 14.7%) and macrophage activation syndrome (31.0% vs. 15.2%) than others. Boys were also more often hospitalised in PICU with age (from median 11.2 years to 9.1). Interpretation: The severity of MIS-C is not as uniform as it seemed, ethnicity and sex may affect MIS-C phenotype. Management might not be universally applicable and should rather be adjusted to the specific population. Funding: PSP: 501-D402-20-0006100

Neisseria meningitidis jest chorobotwórczą bakterią wywołującą inwazyjną chorobę meningokokową (IChM), przebiegającą najczęściej pod postacią zapalenia opon mózgowo-rdzeniowych lub sepsy. Wyróżnia się 12 serogrup meningokoków, z których serogrupa B stanowi najczęstszy czynnik etiologiczny IChM w Europie. W pracy przedstawiono opis przypadku nieszczepionego niemowlęcia z zapaleniem opon mózgowo-rdzeniowych o etiologii N. meningititdis serogrupy B wraz z analizą zdarzenia niepożądanego.