Kawasaki disease Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is Kawasaki disease also known as?
mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome
What is Kawasaki disease?
a systemic medium sized vessel vasculitis
Who does Kawasaki disease affect?
young children, typically under 5 years
More common in asian children, particularly Japanese and Korean.
Is there any clear cause of Kawasaki disease?
no clear cause or trigger
What is a key complication of Kawasaki disease and what’s used to screen for it?
coronary artery aneurysm
Echocardiogram.
What is a key feature that would make you think of Kawasaki disease?
a persistent high fever (above 39 degrees) for more than 5 days
How will a child with Kawasaki disease present and what are the findings?
- widespread erythematous maculopapular rash and desquamation (skin peeling) on the palms and soles
- strawberry tongue (red tongue with large papillae)
- cracked lips
- cervical lymphadenopathy
- bilateral conjunctivitis
What investigations are done for Kawasaki disease?
FBC: can show anaemia, leukocytosis and thrombocytosis; LFTs: can show hypoalbuminaemia and elevated liver enzymes; inflammatory markers (particularly ESR) are raised; urinalysis can show raised WBCs without infection; echocardiogram can demonstrate coronary artery pathology
What are the 3 phases of Kawasaki disease?
- acute phase: the child is most unwell with the fever, rash and lymphadenopathy - this lasts 1-2 weeks
- sub acute phase: the acute symptoms settle, desquamation and arthralgia occur and there’s a risk of coronary artery aneurysm forming - this lasts 2-4 weeks
- convalescent stage: the remaining symptoms settle, the blood tests slowly return to normal and the coronary aneurysms may regress
What is the management for Kawasaki disease?
high dose aspirin to reduce the risk of thrombosis; IV immunoglobulins to reduce the risk of coronary artery aneurysms; follow up with echocardiograms
