Evelina London Children’s Hospital is among the first hospitals to hire a nurse dedicated to tackling a rare condition that affects kids that have had Covid-19.
Doctors think PIMS-TS is a delayed reaction to the body trying to get over Covid, causing swelling throughout the body. There are only a very small number of children who get PIMS-TS, but they need hospital treatment. It needs to be caught early, but it can be successfully treated.
Evelina London was among the first in the world to report PIMS-TS as a new condition in April 2020, helping other countries to also successfully treat it.
Michael Bell was hired as the PIMS-TS clinical nurse specialist at the end of 2021 and works with doctors and nurses to care for children in Evelina London with the condition, as well as their families.
He also runs a dedicated helpline which gives medical support and advice to parents of patients who have gone home from hospital, and runs clinics where patients see a range of experts in one setting for check-ups after their time in hospital.
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Eleven-year-old Rahul Chakravarty became unwell with PIMS-TS last December. He was transferred to Evelina London by the South Thames Retrieval Service for specialist care after being diagnosed with the condition at his local hospital.
Rahul’s mother Sumita Chakravarty said: “By the time Rahul was diagnosed with PIMS-TS he was very ill. The doctors at our local hospital were concerned that he might have long term damage to his heart. They contacted doctors at Evelina London for advice and he was taken to the hospital’s paediatric intensive care unit. It was very traumatic seeing him there with so many IV lines connected to his body. He was otherwise a very healthy boy so the experience was very upsetting for us.”
Rahul spent nine days at Evelina London before going home to finish recovering.
Sumita said: “Once Rahul was back home it was very reassuring knowing that there was a dedicated helpline we could call to get medical advice. Rahul developed knee pain after being in hospital and we called the helpline and Michael arranged an appointment with a physiotherapist which did wonders.
“The staff at Evelina London were absolutely wonderful and it’s fantastic that they have a recognised pathway and a dedicated nurse to treat patients with this condition. I felt comfortable that the team knew what they were doing and Rahul was in very safe hands.
“Rahul thankfully has no long term complications. He gets tired very easily but he gets better every week and he has been able to return to school part time. His doctors have told us that most children are fully recovered by six months after their hospital treatment.”
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Since the condition was discovered, Evelina London has treated almost 400 patients from across London and south east England.
Symptoms of PIMS-TS can include:
· A prolonged fever (higher than 38C)
· Tummy ache
· Diarrhoea and / or vomiting
· Widespread red rash
· red bloodshot eyes, strawberry red tongue, or red cracked lips
· Swelling of fingers and toes
· Not feeling or acting like themselves.
If your child has any of the following symptoms, call your GP or NHS 111 for advice. If your child develops chest pain, please call 999 immediately.