Kawasaki Disease: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

Persistent fever with eye, mouth, skin or limb changes raises suspicion. Not every child has all features, especially infants; do not wait for a complete pattern in an unwell child.

Related reading: Microscopic polyangiitis: a different small-vessel disease.

Fever may accompany red eyes without purulent discharge, rash, cracked lips, a red tongue, swollen hands or feet and enlarged neck lymph nodes. Irritability or abdominal pain may occur.

The exact cause is unknown. An immune response in a susceptible child is thought to contribute. It is not considered contagious or caused by parental fault.

Young children are most often affected, with higher occurrence in boys and some Asian populations, but any child can develop it. Infants need particular attention for incomplete presentations and cardiac risk.

Diagnosis combines examination, symptom evolution, inflammation tests and exclusion of alternatives, with ECG and echocardiography. No single test confirms it, and an initially normal echocardiogram does not exclude it.

Hospital treatment uses intravenous immunoglobulin and clinician-prescribed aspirin, sometimes with additional therapy according to coronary risk or response. Never give a child aspirin for this condition without medical direction.

Coronary arteries can enlarge or develop aneurysms, with risks of clots or heart injury. Follow-up and treatment duration depend on coronary findings, not simply disappearance of fever.

There is no established prevention. Follow cardiac appointments and medicine instructions and report returning fever. Ask the team about vaccine timing after immunoglobulin treatment.