, 2010,XIV,4; 344-349

Symptoms, diagnosis and characteristic abnormalities in the coronary arteries in Kawasaki disease in children

Monika Kowalczyk, Anna Turska-Kmieć, Lidia Ziółkowska, Małgorzata Raszek, Wanda Kawalec


Klinika Kardiologii Instytut „Pomnik-Centrum Zdrowia Dziecka”, Warszawa
Kierownik: prof. dr hab. med. W. Kawalec

  • Table I. Diagnostic criteria for Kawasaki Disease
  • Table II. Diagnostic criteria in complete and incomplete Kawasaki Disease
  • Table III. Abnormalities in coronary arteries with regard to day of diagnosis and clinical manifestation

Introduction: Kawasaki disease (KD) is a vasculitis of unknown etiology, the diagnosis is based upon symptoms, characteristic abnormalities in the coronary arteries are the most important complications.

Aim: Establishment of a data base of the patients with KD, assignation of symptoms, and frequency of abnormalities in the coronary arteries according to the clinical manifestations and time of the diagnosis.

Materials and methods: The patients’ data from selected centres of paediatric cardiology were put into a questionnaire form in the internet. The data of 120 children were placed into data base in the year 2007, of which we analyzed 112 cases.

Results: The most frequent symptoms were fever and abnormalities of oral mucosa. Complete KD was diagnosed in 73%, incomplete in 27% (median of age 28 and 19 months respectively). The disease was diagnosed before its 10th day in 60% with similar frequency of both clinical manifestations, abnormalities in the coronary arteries were observed in 59% with complete and in 44% with incomplete KD clinical sings.

The disease lasting longer than 10 days was diagnosed in 40% with similar frequency in both groups of clinical manifestations, abnormalities in the coronary arteries were in 79% with complete and in 75% with incomplete KD. In all cases, abnormalities in coronary arteries were in 67% with complete and in 57% with incomplete KD.

Conclusions: The most frequent symptoms of Kawasaki disease are fever and abnormalities in the oral mucosa. Incomplete KD is more frequent in younger children. Despite complete KD in 40% of cases diagnosis was delayed. Abnormalities in the coronary arteries were more frequent in patients in whom KD was diagnosed only after the 10th day of the illness, but with the same frequency in both clinical manifestations. Diagnosis of incomplete KD before the 10th day of the illness was associated with lower risk of incidence of abnormalities in the coronary arteries.

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