A potentially deadly complication from COVID-19 previously seen only in kids is now being reported in adults.

Northwell Health's Dr. Hugh Cassiere says there are signs to watch for of multi-system inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-A:

- Rashes on the skin
- A COVID-19 or antibody test that was positive within the last 12 weeks
- Evidence of severe organ disfunction
- Inflammation in the organs, except for the lungs

"The CDC put this out just to alert adult providers that this entity exists that we should be looking for in the adult population, before we weren't," says Cassiere.

In a weekly report, the CDC described the cases of 27 adults between ages 21-50. All but one of the MIS-A patients described in the report belong to racial or ethnic minority groups.

Cassiere says those patients are given high-dose steroids and medicine called IV immunoglobulin.

"And when you institute these therapies, actually patients improve," he says.