Parzen-Johnson, Simon, Katz, Ben Z · Journal of clinical medicine · 2024 · DOI
This review article examines two serious complications that can occur in children after COVID-19 infection: MIS-C (a condition where the immune system overreacts and inflames multiple body systems) and PASC (long-term symptoms that persist after the acute infection ends). The authors found that while most children don't get severely ill from COVID-19 itself, these post-infection complications cause significant ongoing health problems. The review identifies important gaps in our understanding of why these conditions develop and calls for more research and resources to help affected children.
This review is important for ME/CFS understanding because it examines post-infectious sequelae mechanisms and highlights research gaps in studying long-term complications after viral infection. The authors emphasize that the framework and lessons learned from studying MIS-C and PASC can inform investigation of post-infectious sequelae from other pathogens beyond COVID-19, potentially advancing understanding of conditions like ME/CFS that involve prolonged post-infectious symptoms.
This review does not prove that MIS-C and PASC share mechanisms with ME/CFS or that COVID-related post-infectious conditions are identical to ME/CFS. It also does not establish definitive pathophysiologic mechanisms for either MIS-C or PASC, as the authors explicitly identify these as major unknowns. The review is limited to literature synthesis and cannot make causal claims about disease etiology.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Parzen-Johnson, Simon & Katz, Ben Z (2024). Navigating the Spectrum of Two Pediatric COVID-19 Complications: Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children and Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.. Journal of clinical medicine. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13041147
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-parzen-johnson-2024-navigating-spectrum,
author = {Parzen-Johnson, Simon and Katz, Ben Z},
title = {Navigating the Spectrum of Two Pediatric COVID-19 Complications: Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children and Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.},
journal = {Journal of clinical medicine},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.3390/jcm13041147},
note = {PubMed: 38398460},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/parzen-johnson-2024-navigating-spectrum},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/parzen-johnson-2024-navigating-spectrum
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