Kawasaki disease

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Lymphatic system

Kawasaki's disease, peeling of the fingertips

Kawasaki's disease - edema of the hand

Kawasaki disease

Alternative Names:

Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome; Infantile polyarteritis
Symptoms:

Kawasaki disease often begins with a high and persistent fever greater than 102F, often as high as 104F. A persistent fever lasting at least five days is considered a hallmark sign. The fever may persist steadily for up to two weeks and is not very responsive to normal doses of acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

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Other symptoms often include:

Extremely bloodshot or red eyes (without pus or drainage)
Bright red, chapped, or cracked lips
Red mucous membranes in the mouth
Strawberry tongue, white coating on the tongue, or prominent red bumps on the back of the tongue
Red palms of the hands and the soles of the feet
Swollen hands and feet
Skin rashes, NOT blister-like, on the trunk
Peeling skin in the genital area, hands, and feet (especially around the nails, palms, and soles)
Swollen lymph nodes (frequently only one lymph node is swollen), particularly in the neck area.
Joint pain and swelling, frequently symmetrical

Signs and tests:

There are no tests that specifically diagnose Kawasaki disease. The diagnosis is usually made based on the patient having most of the classic symptoms.

However, some children may have a fever lasting more than 5 days, but few of the other classic symptoms of the disease. Therefore, all children with fever lasting more than 5 days should be evaluated, with Kawasaki disease considered as a possibility. (The American Heart Association released guidelines for this assessment in the October 26, 2004 issue of Circulation.) Early treatment is essential for those who do have the disease.

The following tests may be performed:

Complete blood count
ESR
Electrocardiogram
Echocardiogram
Chest x-ray
Urinalysis - may show pus in the urine or protein in the urine

Procedures such as ECG and echocardiography may reveal signs of myocarditis, pericarditis, arthritis, aseptic meningitis, and inflammation of the coronary arteries.