Researchers have identified the main clinical signs and symptoms of a new inflammatory syndrome in children now known as Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome Temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019.

The new study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reports that this inflammatory syndrome presents more often with abdominal pains and diarrhea along with a persistent fever. Researchers also report that the syndrome affected a higher number of Black and Asian patients. Of the 58 children in the study, 45 with the new condition had evidence of current or past COVID-19 infection. The study was funded by NHLBI.