MANY children who develop a rare inflammatory syndrome after COVID-19 see their most serious symptoms clear up by six months, a new study suggests.

Although the study was small, involving fewer than 50 kids with the condition, called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), the authors say the results are encouraging.

“These findings can hopefully signal cautious optimism that many of the most severe effects of [MIS-C] appear to resolve within six months,” study co-author Dr. Justin Penner, of the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, said in a statement. Still, some children did experience persistent fatigue and difficulty exercising that should be closely monitored, the researchers said.

MIS-C was first discovered in April 2020, and involves inflammation of multiple organs, such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes and gastrointestinal tract, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Kids with the condition may experience fever, rash, abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhea, usually after testing positive for COVID-19, and they usually need to be hospitalized. The condition is rare — after about 1 year, a total of 3,742 cases of MIS-C and 35 deaths have been reported in the U.S., according to the CDC; while about 4 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 in the country, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.(SD-Agencies)