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The Translational Research Committee of the French Intensive Care Society organized the first Young Investigator’s Day on October 18th 2019. This seminar gave young Intensive Care students the opportunity to present their Master’s or PhD research work to a college of expert researchers. For this first event, Professors Jean-Marc Cavaillon (Paris), Laurent Papazian (Marseille), Peter Radermacher (Ulm) et Hafid Ait-Oufella (Paris) kindly accepted to give young candidates their critical support. The subjects of presentations, covering the fields of neuroscience, immunology, hemodynamics and pharmacology illustrated the richness and diversity of translational research in Intensive Care Medicine.

Objectives The aim of this study was to describe severe forms of novel coronavirus disease 2019 in children, including patient characteristics, clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings, as well as the disease management and outcomes. Methods This was a retrospective, single-center, observational study conducted in a pediatric intensive and high-dependency care unit (PICU, HDU) in an urban hospital in Paris. All patients, aged from 1 month to 18 years, admitted for confirmed or highly suspected SARS-CoV-2 were included. Results We analyzed the data of 27 children. Comorbidities (n = 19, 70%) were mainly neurological (n = 7), respiratory, (n = 4), or sickle cell disease (n = 4). SARS-CoV-2 PCR results were positive in 24 children (nasopharyngeal swabs). The three remaining children had a chest CT scan consistent with COVID-19. Respiratory involvement was observed in 24 patients (89%). Supportive treatments were invasive mechanical ventilation (n = 9), catecholamine (n = 4), erythropheresis (n = 4), renal replacement therapy (n = 1), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (n = 1). Five children died, of whom three were without past medical history. Conclusion This study highlighted the large spectrum of clinical presentation and time course of disease progression as well as the non-negligible occurrence of pediatric life-threatening and fatal cases of COVID-19 mostly in patients with comorbidities. Additional laboratory investigations are needed to further analyze the mechanism underlying the variability of SARS-Cov-2 pathogenicity in children.

Objectives To describe the characteristics of children and adolescents affected by an outbreak of Kawasaki-like multisystem inflammatory syndrome and to evaluate a potential temporal association with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Design Prospective observational study. Setting General paediatric department of a university hospital in Paris, France. Participants 21 children and adolescents (aged ≤18 years) with features of Kawasaki disease who were admitted to hospital between 27 April and 11 May 2020 and followed up until discharge by 15 May 2020. Main outcome measures The primary outcomes were clinical and biological data, imaging and echocardiographic findings, treatment, and outcomes. Nasopharyngeal swabs were prospectively tested for SARS-CoV-2 using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and blood samples were tested for IgG antibodies to the virus. Results 21 children and adolescents (median age 7.9 (range 3.7-16.6) years) were admitted with features of Kawasaki disease over a 15 day period, with 12 (57%) of African ancestry. 12 (57%) presented with Kawasaki disease shock syndrome and 16 (76%) with myocarditis. 17 (81%) required intensive care support. All 21 patients had noticeable gastrointestinal symptoms during the early stage of illness and high levels of inflammatory markers. 19 (90%) had evidence of recent SARS-CoV-2 infection (positive RT-PCR result in 8/21, positive IgG antibody detection in 19/21). All 21 patients received intravenous immunoglobulin and 10 (48%) also received corticosteroids. The clinical outcome was favourable in all patients. Moderate coronary artery dilations were detected in 5 (24%) of the patients during hospital stay. By 15 May 2020, after 8 (5-17) days of hospital stay, all patients were discharged home. Conclusions The ongoing outbreak of Kawasaki-like multisystem inflammatory syndrome among children and adolescents in the Paris area might be related to SARS-CoV-2. In this study an unusually high proportion of the affected children and adolescents had gastrointestinal symptoms, Kawasaki disease shock syndrome, and were of African ancestry.

Background: Acute clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection are less frequent and less severe in children than in adults. However, recent observations raised concerns about potential post-viral severe inflammatory reactions in children infected with SARS-CoV-2. Methods: We describe an outbreak of cases of Kawasaki disease (KD) admitted between April 27 and May 7, 2020, in the general paediatrics department of a university hospital in Paris, France. All children prospectively underwent nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR, SARS-CoV-2 IgG serology testing, and echocardiography. The number of admissions for KD during the study period was compared to that observed since January 1, 2018, based on discharge codes, using Poisson regression. Results: A total of 17 children were admitted for KD over an 11-day period, in contrast with a mean of 1.0 case per 2-week period over 2018-2019 (Poisson incidence rate ratio: 13.2 [95% confidence interval: 7.3-24.1], p