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What
is Kawasaki Syndrome?
Kawasaki
Syndrome is a febrile illness of greater than or equal to
5 days' duration, with at least four of the five following
physical findings and no other more reasonable explanation
of the observed clinical findings:
- Bilateral
conjunctival injection (red eyes)
- Oral
changes: erythema (redness) of the lips and oropharynx,
strawberry tongue, and red, cracked lips
- Peripheral
extremity changes: edema (swelling), erythema, and generalized
or periungual (around the fingernail and toenail beds)
peeling and redness
- Rash
- Cervical
lymphadenopathy (at least one lymph node greater than
or equal to 1.5 cm in diameter)
Who
gets Kawasaki Syndrome?
Children
under five years of age are most commonly affected; children
over eight years of age rarely, if ever, have the disease.
How
is Kawasaki Syndrome spread?
The
cause of Kawasaki Syndrome is unknown.
How
is Kawasaki Syndrome diagnosed?
There
is no specific laboratory test to diagnose Kawasaki Syndrome.
A case of Kawasaki Syndrome is confirmed when a
case meets the clinical case definition.
Comment:
If fever disappears after intravenous gamma globulin therapy
is started, the clinical case definition may still be met
even if the fever is of less than 5 days' duration.
Where
can I get more information?
- Your
personal doctor.
- Your
local health department listed in your telephone directory.
- The
Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology (801)
538-6191.
UTAH
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
BUREAU OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
August 2001
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. Case definitions for
infectious conditions under public health surveillance.
MMWR 1990; 39 (No. RR-13):17.
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