What is Kawasaki Disease?

What is Kawasaki Disease? Kawasaki Disease (KD), also known as Kawasaki Syndrome, is a serious illness characterized by inflammation of blood vessels throughout the body that primarily affects young children and infants. However, I was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease when I was 11 years old. Kawasaki Disease is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children.

Although about 80 percent of patients are under five years of age, older children and teenagers can also get KD, but this is uncommon (yep that is me for sure). KD is more common in boys than girls, and the majority of cases are diagnosed in the winter and early spring. It is not contagious. To say the least I broke all of the above norms. I was 11 years old, diagnosed in June and I am a female!

The disease is named after Tomisaku Kawasaki, a Japanese pediatrician who first described the illness in the medical literature in 1967. Although it is more prevalent among children of Asian and Pacific Island descent, KD affects people of all racial and ethnic groups. It is estimated that more than 4,200 children are diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease in the U.S. each year. When I was diagnosed in 1984 I was only the 6th child in Kentucky who had been diagnosed!

The cause of KD is unknown, although an agent, like a virus, is suspected. There is no currently accepted scientific evidence that KD is caused by carpet cleaning or chemical exposure however it is suspected by some that is an underlying cause. I personally feel that it contributed to my illness but there is no scientific proof.

Kawasaki Disease is characterized by an inflammation of the blood vessels throughout the body. There is no specific test for KD; doctors make a clinical diagnosis based on a collection of symptoms and physical findings. Early symptoms of KD include:

Fever that lasts for five or more days – I had a high fever of over 104 for over 12 days

Rash, often worse in the groin area
Red bloodshot eyes, without drainage or crusting
Bright red, swollen, cracked lips, “strawberry” tongue, which appears with shiny bright red spots after the top coating sloughs off
Swollen hands and feet and redness of the palms and soles of the feet
Skin on the hands and feet “peel”
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck

Children with these symptoms are extremely uncomfortable and irritable. Any parent whose child has persistent fever and any of these symptoms should take him or her to the doctor immediately. I was extremely lethargic and dehydrated when I was sick.

Without treatment, about 25% of children develop heart disease involving the coronary arteries. Timely diagnosis and treatment (which usually includes intravenous gamma globulin) is highly effective in preventing coronary complications. There was NO treatment when I was diagnosed and those sick with KD must get the treatment within the first two weeks of illness. I was not diagnosed during the two week window.

Doctors continue to study the long-term outcome of children who do not appear to have coronary involvement. Other kinds of longer-term consequences (e.g., non-coronary) are extremely rare. There is no evidence that links KD with autism or a seizure disorder. A very small number of KD children might have a seizure in the early acute stage of KD when there are very high fevers, but there is no on-going or long term seizure prone condition.

For more information of if you suspect your child has Kawasaki Disease visit Kawasaki Disease Foundation.