Cardiac manifestations of MIS-C: cardiac magnetic resonance and speckle-tracking data

Cardiac involvement is central in MIS-C and represents the main cause of morbidity. In this study, we aimed to assess myocardial damage in patients with MIS-C using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) during the acute phase, as well as left ventricular and atrial longitudinal strain on admission, at discharge, and after 3 months.

We performed a single-center prospective cohort study and case-control study. Between September 2020 and February 2022, we enrolled 39 patients hospitalized for MIS-C at our center. We performed left ventricular and atrial longitudinal 2D strain analysis on admission and during follow-up; echocardiographic data were compared to a matched control population. Patients above 4 years old with increased troponin underwent CMR.

Of 24 patients (mean age: 8.2 ± 4.9 years) who underwent CMR, 14 (58%) presented myocardial edema and 6 (25%) late gadolinium enhancement (LGE). LGE was associated with older age (p < 0.01), increased BMI (p = 0.03), increased ferritin levels (p < 0.001), lower left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (p < 0.001), LV longitudinal strain (p = 0.004), left atrial (LA) strain (p = 0.05), and prolonged hospital stay (p = 0.02). On admission, LV ejection fraction, LV longitudinal strain, and LA strain were impaired, but each improved gradually over time; LVEF was the fastest to recover, while global LV longitudinal strain was still impaired as compared to controls after 3 months (p = 0.01).

Our study demonstrates that myocardial injury is present in a quarter of MIS-C patients, and impaired LA and LV myocardial deformation persist for at least several weeks after the acute phase. CMR and LV/LA strain could help us to individualize follow-up of MIS-C patients.