ESPE Abstracts

Background: A virus initially considered benign in this age group, SARS-COV-2 has recently been associated with Pediatric Multisystemic Inflammatory Syndrome (PIMS), temporarily associated with COVID-19, a syndrome whose diagnostic determination has a vital relevance since it imposes unfavorable outcomes. This study aims to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of PIMS in Brazil and the factors associated with death by this syndrome.

Methods: This research is an observational and retrospective cohort study of cases of PIMS associated with Covid-19 in the Brazilian population between 04/01/2020 and 04/17/2021.

Data from the Ministry of Health’s epidemiological bulletin, obtained from the compulsory notifications from PIMS and Covid-19 carried out up to the 15^th epidemiological week of 2021, were used. The analyses were descriptive through absolute and relative frequencies, and also relative risks of PIMS cases were calculated between the exposure variables (age groups, genders, and regions of the Brazilian territory) and the outcome (deaths by PIMS). The work was carried out at the significance level of 5% in Stata 16.0 package.

Results: Between 04/01/2020 and 04/17/2021 (15^th epidemiological of 2021), 903 cases of PIMS associated with Covid-19 were notified in Brazil, of which, the largest part (55.26%) were male, between 0 and 4 years old (45.29%), from the Southeast region (38.76%). The deaths were higher in the female gender, between 0 and 4 years old (47.54%) and in the Southeast region (34.43%). It was identified that the risk of death by PIMS related to Covid-19 is 5.29 (CI= 2.83; 9.87 and P-value= <0.001) times higher in adolescents from 15-19 years old than in other age groups when compared to 0-4 years old children. Also, the residency in North region was as risk factor to death (RR= 3.72, IC= 1.29; 10.74 e P-value= 0.008).

Conclusion: In this study, despite the numbers showing more deaths from zero to 4 years old, the risk for teenagers is notably higher. In addition, Brazil’s North region is a risk factor that reaffirms social inequality and poor access to health. Understanding PIMS’s epidemiology in the age group is essential for planning public health policies and raising public awareness to avoid tragic outcomes in Brazil, which already suffers from COVID-19.