Zeitschrift für Gefäßmedizin und Chirurgie

Abstrakt

Myocarditis after COVID-19 Vaccination in Pediatrics: Opportunities for Improvement

Nefthi Sandeep

The surge of pediatric admissions for myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination has waned since 2021. Our experience has provided opportunities to improve our current understanding and future response. First, we must continue to search for risk factors in addition to age and sex. Overweight or obese status, a known risk factor for COVID-19 disease severity in adults, has been observed frequently in our unpublished experience in pediatrics and is worthy of further attention. Second, to aid in diagnosis, strong consideration should be given to establishing one uniform troponin isoform and range across centers instead of utilizing multiple isoforms and ranges. Third, developing a systematic and organized method for tracking deviations from proposed pathways such as ours will be essential in refining future recommendations and may help develop clinical equipoise to help justify future randomized controlled trials for treatment. With a deliberate and methodical approach, we can improve our understanding and management of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination and of myocarditis in general.