Whittaker E, Bamford A, Kenny J, et al. - Researchers sought to describe the clinical and laboratory characteristics of critically ill children who developed an inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (PIMS-TS). Further, they compared these characteristics with other pediatric inflammatory disorders. From 8 hospitals in England, they assessed data from a case series of 58 children who were admitted between March 23 and May 16, 2020, with persistent fever and laboratory evidence of inflammation meeting published definitions for PIMS-TS. Of these children, 45 (78%) had evidence of current or prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. All of these children had fever and nonspecific symptoms, such as abdominal pain (31 [53%]), rash (30 [52%]), and conjunctival injection (26 [45%]). Twenty nine children (50%) developed shock and required inotropic support or fluid resuscitation. Diagnostic criteria for Kawasaki disease were met by 13 (22%) children. There were 8 (14%) children who had coronary artery dilatation or aneurysms. On comparing PIMS-TS with KD and with KD shock syndrome, differences were noted in clinical and laboratory features, including older age (median age, 9 years vs 2.7 years and 3.8 years, respectively), and greater elevation of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (median, 229 mg/L vs 67 mg/L and 193 mg/L, respectively). These findings may aid in characterizing the clinical features of hospitalized, seriously ill children with PIMS-TS and provide information concerning this apparently novel syndrome.