Kawasaki Disease

Kawasaki disease is a children’s illness. It is also known as Kawasaki syndrome or mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome. This along with the acute rheumatic fever is two leading causes of acquired heart disease in children. About 80% of the people with the disease are under age five. However, children over age eight are rarely affected. The disease occurs more often among boys (over 60 percent) and among those of Asian ancestry. It can occur in every racial and ethnic group. Over 4000 cases of Kawasaki disease are being diagnosed annually in the United States. Less than 1 percent of those who get it die.

Symptoms

• Fever
• Rash on stomach chest and genitals
• Swollen hands and feet and sole of the feet with purple red bumps.
• Irritation and redness of the whites of the eyes
• Swollen lymph glands in the neck
• Irritation and inflammation of the mouth, lips and throat
• Severe redness in the eyes
• Red, dry, cracked lips
• Swollen tongue with a white coating and big red bumps

Causes

The Kawasaki Disease is caused by an infectious agent such as a virus. However, scientist declares that it is rare for more than one child in the family to develop Kawasaki disease.

Effects of the KD

Heart diseases (it is proven that 15 to 25 percent of the children with Kawasaki disease experiences heart problems).
Coronary arteries -the part of the coronary wall can be weakened and balloon (bulge out) in an aneurysm. A blood clot can form in this weakened area and block the artery which sometime leads to a heart attack. The aneurysm can also burst, but this rarely happens. Other changes include inflammation of the heart muscles (myocarditis) or the sac surrounding the heart (pericarditis). Arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) or abnormal functioning of some heart valves also can occur.

• Damaged Muscles
• Breaking of the skin
• Joint pains
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain

Treatment

Aspirin to reduce fever, rash, joint inflammation and pain and also to prevent blood clots from forming.
Intravenous gamma globulin is a medicine that is use to decrease the risk of developing coronary artery abnormalities when given early in the illness.
Doctors can manage the symptoms of Kawasaki disease if they catch it early. Usually the symptoms disappear within 2 days of the start of treatment. However, if the disease is treated within 10 days of the onset of symptoms, the heart problems are unlikely to develop. Cases that usually go untreated can lead to serious complications such as vacuities which can affect the coronary arteries which supply blood to the heart. If the Kawasaki disease is suspected, the doctor may order tests to monitor heart function (echocardiogram) and might take blood and urine samples to rule out other conditions such as scarlet fever, measles or an allergic drug reaction.

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