KAWASAKI DISEASE: AN IMPORTANT CAUSE OF CARDIOVASCULAR MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN PEDIATRICS.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile, systemic vasculitic sindrome affecting medium-sized arteries, unknown aetiology, probably multifactorial, which affects mainly infants and early childhood. KD is characterized by fever, conjunctivitis nonexudative bilateral conjunctivitis, erythema lips and oral mucosa, changes in the extremities, erythematous rash and cervical lymphadenopathy. It combines risk of developing ecstasies or aneurisms of the coronary arteries that may lead to ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction or sudden death. Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin is generally effective but its mechanism of action is still unclear. The development of a diagnostic test, a more specific treatment and ultimately the prevention of this potentially fatal disease in children from all depend on continued progress in understanding the etiopathogenesis of this fascinating disease. The purpose of this review is to outline the main hypothesis on the genesis of KD, diagnostic criteria, treatment options currently available and the importance of follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]