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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
0:51 Symptoms of Kawasaki disease
1:57 Causes of Kawasaki disease
2:32 Diagnosis of Kawasaki disease
3:05 Treatment of Kawasaki disease




Kawasaki disease is a syndrome of unknown cause that results in a fever and mainly affects children under 5 years of age.[6] It is a form of vasculitis, where blood vessels become inflamed throughout the body.[1] The fever typically lasts for more than five days and is not affected by usual medications.[1] Other common symptoms include large lymph nodes in the neck, a rash in the genital area, lips, palms, or soles of the feet, and red eyes.[1] Within three weeks of the onset, the skin from the hands and feet may peel, after which recovery typically occurs.[1] In some children, coronary artery aneurysms form in the heart.[1]

While the specific cause is unknown, it is thought to result from an excessive immune system response to an infection in children who are genetically predisposed.[6] It does not spread between people.[7] Diagnosis is usually based on a person's signs and symptoms.[1] Other tests such as an ultrasound of the heart and blood tests may support the diagnosis.[1] Diagnosis must take into account many other conditions that may present similar features, including scarlet fever and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.[8] An emerging 'Kawasaki-like' disease temporally associated with COVID-19[9] appears to be a distinct syndrome.[10]

Typically, initial treatment of Kawasaki disease consists of high doses of aspirin and immunoglobulin.[1] Usually, with treatment, fever resolves within 24 hours and full recovery occurs.[1] If the coronary arteries are involved, ongoing treatment or surgery may occasionally be required.[1] Without treatment, coronary artery aneurysms occur in up to 25% and about 1% die.[3][11] With treatment, the risk of death is reduced to 0.17%.[11] People who have had coronary artery aneurysms after Kawasaki disease require lifelong cardiological monitoring by specialized teams.[12]

Kawasaki disease is rare.[1] It affects between 8 and 67 per 100,000 people under the age of five except in Japan, where it affects 124 per 100,000.[5] Boys are more commonly affected than girls.[1] The disorder is named after Japanese pediatrician Tomisaku Kawasaki, who first described it in 1967.[5][13]