Coronavirus-related syndrome surfaces in older adults; stillbirths cause worry

A rare and life-threatening condition seen in some children and young adults after exposure to the novel coronavirus is being reported in older adults now as well. 

The condition, known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), can attack multiple organs, impair heart function and weaken heart arteries. Children initially experience fever, rash, conjunctivitis, lower-limb swelling, pain in arms and legs, and significant gastrointestinal symptoms.

Doctors at New York University, in a report on Saturday in the Lancet medical journal, reported a similar case in a 45-year-old man.

Doctors at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn reported last month in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine a case in a 36-year-old woman.

While both research teams cautioned against drawing conclusions from these isolated cases, they said they want to "heighten awareness" of the possibility that the syndrome can occur in adults.

London hospital reports rise in stillbirths during pandemic

The number of stillbirths at one large London hospital has jumped significantly during the pandemic.

In the four months preceding the pandemic, there were roughly two stillbirths among every 1,000 births at St George's University Hospital. From February through mid-June, there were roughly nine stillbirths per 1,000 births.

The research appeared on Friday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. None of the women with stillbirths during the pandemic period had been diagnosed with COVID-19, the researchers said.

But they noted that the coronavirus still may have been responsible given that previous research showed that up to 90% of infected pregnant women in Britain had no symptoms and therefore could not get tested for the virus.

The increase in stillbirths also may be an indirect effect of the pandemic, they said.

If women avoided visiting a doctor or hospital for fear of infection, serious problems might have been missed such as reduced fetal movements or dangerous pregnancy-related high blood pressure. -- Reuters