Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki disease (also known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome) is a syndrome of unknown cause that results in a fever and mainly affects children under 5 years of age. It is a form of vasculitis, in which medium-sized blood vessels become inflamed throughout the body. The fever typically lasts for more than five days and is not affected by antipyretics. 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. Within three weeks of the onset, the skin from the hands and feet may peel, after which recovery typically occurs. The disease is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in developed countries, which include the formation of coronary artery aneurysms and myocarditis.

While the specific cause is unknown, it is thought to result from an excessive immune response to particular infections in children who are genetically predisposed to those infections. It is not an infectious disease, that is, it does not spread between people. Diagnosis is usually based on a person's signs and symptoms. Other tests such as an ultrasound of the heart and blood tests may support the diagnosis. Diagnosis must take into account many other conditions that may present similar features, including scarlet fever and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a "Kawasaki-like" disease associated with COVID-19, appears to have distinct features. Another disease that can originally be presented with the same symptoms is measles. This is due to similar symptoms such as red eyes, persistent fever, and swollen hands/feet. However, Kawasaki disease is not spread the way measles can be spread from person to person.