Kawasaki Disease—Kawasaki Disease

Also called: Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome

Kawasaki disease is a rare childhood disease. It makes the walls of the blood vessels in the body become inflamed. It can affect any type of blood vessel, including the arteries, veins, and capillaries.

No one knows what causes Kawasaki disease. Symptoms include

• High fever that lasts longer than 5 days
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
• A rash on the mid-section and genital area
• Red, dry, cracked lips and a red, swollen tongue
• Red, swollen palms of the hands and soles of the feet
• Redness of the eyes

Kawasaki disease can’t be passed from one child to another. There is no single test. To diagnose it, doctors look at the signs and symptoms. They may also use an echocardiogram or other tests. It is mainly treated with medicines. Rarely, medical procedures and surgery also may be used for children whose coronary arteries are affected.

Kawasaki disease can’t be prevented. However, most children who develop the disease fully recover – usually within weeks of getting signs and symptoms. Further problems are rare.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

• Electrocardiogram (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Kawasaki disease (Medical Encyclopedia)

Kawasaki disease is a sudden and time-limited (acute) illness that affects infants and young children. Affected children develop a prolonged fever lasting several days, a skin rash, and swollen lymph nodes in the neck (cervical lymphadenopathy). They also develop redness in the whites of the eyes (conjunctivitis) and redness (erythema) of the lips, lining of the mouth (oral mucosa), tongue, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet.Without treatment, 15 to 25 percent of individuals with Kawasaki disease develop bulging and thinning of the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle (coronary artery aneurysms) or other damage to the coronary arteries, which can be life-threatening.