The Characteristics of Patients With COVID-19–Associated Pediatric Vasculitis: An International, Multicenter Study

Objective: COVID-19–associated pediatric vasculitis, other than Kawasaki disease (KD)–like vasculitis in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), is very rare. This study sought to analyze the characteristics, treatment, and outcomes in patients with COVID-19–associated pediatric vasculitis (excluding KD-like vasculitis in MIS-C). Methods: The inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) age <18 years at vasculitis onset; 2) evidence of vasculitis; 3) evidence of SARS–CoV-2 exposure; and 4) ≤3 months between SARS–CoV-2 exposure and vasculitis onset. Patients with MIS-C were excluded. The features of the subset of patients in our cohort who had COVID-19–associated pediatric IgA vasculitis/Henoch Schönlein purpura (IgAV/HSP) were compared against a pre-pandemic cohort of pediatric IgAV/HSP patients. Results: Forty-one patients (median age 8.3 years; male to female ratio 1.3) were included from 14 centers and 6 countries. The most frequent vasculitis subtype was IgAV/HSP (n = 30). The median duration between SARS–CoV-2 exposure and vasculitis onset was 13 days. Involvement of the skin (92.7%) and of the gastrointestinal system (61%) were the most common manifestations of vasculitis. Most patients (68.3%) received glucocorticoids, and 14.6% also received additional immunosuppressive drugs. Remission was achieved in all patients. All of the patients with IgAV/HSP in our cohort had skin manifestations, while 18 (60%) had gastrointestinal involvement and 13 (43.3%) had renal involvement. When we compared the features of this subset of 30 patients to those of a pre-pandemic pediatric IgAV/HSP cohort (n = 159), the clinical characteristics of fever and renal involvement were more common in our COVID-19–associated pediatric IgAV/HSP cohort (fever, 30% versus 5%, respectively [P < 0.001]; renal involvement, 43.3% versus 17.6%, respectively [P = 0.002]). Recovery without treatment and complete recovery were each less frequent among our COVID-19-associated pediatric IgAV/HSP patients compared to the pre-pandemic pediatric IgAV/HSP cohort (recovery without treatment, 10% versus 39%, respectively [P = 0.002]; complete recovery, 86.7% versus 99.4%, respectively [P = 0.002]). Conclusion: This is the largest cohort of children with COVID-19–associated vasculitis (excluding MIS-C) studied to date. Our findings suggest that children with COVID-19–associated IgAV/HSP experience a more severe disease course compared to pediatric IgAV/HSP patients before the pandemic. © 2022 American College of Rheumatology

Proceedings Of The 23Rd Paediatric Rheumatology European Society Congress: Part Two

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