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I recently learned of a child who had been diagnosed with an uncommon pediatric illness known as Kawasaki Disease. I then became very aware that I did not have any experience with Kawasaki Disease or any medical knowledge of this uncommon pediatric illness. The following is information about Kawasaki Disease provided by our United States Federal Government Centers For Disease Control.
Kawasaki disease, also known as Kawasaki syndrome, is a disease that can cause damage to the heart and blood vessels, mostly in children younger than 5 years old. It affects boys more often than girls. The cause of KD is not known. In the continental United States, KD occurs in about 9 to 20 per 100,000 children under 5 years of age. In 2019, there were more than 5,000 children under 18 years of age who were hospitalized with KD in the United States. Of these children, nearly 3,700 were under 5 years of age.
Children with KD have a fever that typically lasts for 5 days or longer. They may also have all or some of the following symptoms: skin rash, swelling and redness of their hands and feet, irritation and redness of the whites of their eyes, swollen lymph nodes in their neck, irritation and inflammation of their mouth, lips and throat.
KD can cause serious complications, including swelling of parts of the heart and other blood vessels. When this happens, the heart doesn’t work as well to pump blood to the body and could burst (coronary artery dilation and aneurysms).
Treatment for KD is available, and it must be given at the hospital. It typically combines a mixture of antibodies (immunoglobulin) given as an intravenous (IV) treatment that contains this immunoglobulin (IG) and aspirin. The treatment can help make symptoms less severe and reduce the risk of serious complications. Healthcare professionals may recommend additional treatments. It is also reported by the CDC that most children that receive this intravenous (IV) treatment for Kawasaki Disease do make a good recovery with this proper treatment. This IV treatment with immunoglobulin may also be referred to as (IVIG) treatment.
The bottom line here is that if a young child has any of these persistent symptoms of fever, rash, swelling and redness of their hands and feet, irritation and redness of the whites of their eyes, swollen lymph nodes in their neck, irritation and inflammation of their mouth, lips and throat, they should be taken to their professional health care provider without delay.
For additional information about Kawasaki Disease, you may refer to our United States Centers for Disease Control, that is the source of all of the above Kawasaki Disease information. You may also refer to the online Kawasaki Disease Foundation at their website (kdfoundation.org).