Abstract

JARAMILLO, JUAN CAMILO  and  AGUIRRE, CARLOS ARTURO. Kawasaki disease: case report. Infect. [online]. 2006, vol.10, n.1, pp.30-36. ISSN 0123-9392.

The Kawasaki disease is a systemic vasculitis that mainly affects children under five years. It has become the first cause of acquired cardiac illnesses in industrialized countries. Although it can be a self-limited disease, it usually damages medium caliber arteries, especially the coronaries, causing serious sequels and even death. Aside from cardiac alterations, the Kawasaki disease can affect other organs and systems: muscles, central nervous system, lungs and eyes, among others. Its cause is still unknown, but there is evidence that it may have an infectious origin, and it has been postulated that it is triggered by an ubiquitous infectious agent, probably a respiratory one, that causes a strong immunological reaction in certain individuals. The Kawasaki disease has an endemoepidemic pattern. In Colombia, some isolated cases have been described, although an active surveillance of this disease does not exist. In this review, four Kawasaki disease cases are analyzed, attending a third level hospital during a one and a half month period which suggests a possible outbreak. The variety of signs and symptoms of the disease in these cases are emphasized and also is the importance of early diagnosis to improve patients’ outcome.

Keywords : Kawasaki disease; human coronaviuses; meatitis; pulmonary symptoms; uveitis.