Aims. Kawasaki disease is an acute systemic vasculitis and is the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children in\r\nthe developed world. This review aims to synthesise recent insights into the disease and provide an update for clinicians on\r\ndiagnostic and treatment practices. Methods.We conducted a review of the literature exploring epidemiology, aetiology, diagnosis,\r\nandmanagement of Kawasaki disease.We searched MEDLINE,Medline In-Process, Embase, Google Scholar, and reference lists of\r\nrelevant articles. Conclusions. Kawasaki disease is a febrile vasculitis which progresses to coronary artery abnormalities in 25% of\r\nuntreated patients. The disease is believed to result froma genetically susceptible individualââ?¬â?¢s exposure to an environmental trigger.\r\nIncidence is rising worldwide, and varies widely across countries and within different ethnic groups. Diagnosis is based on the\r\npresence of fever in addition to four out of five other clinical criteria, but it is complicated by the quarter of the Kawasaki disease\r\npatients with ââ?¬Å?incompleteââ?¬Â presentation. Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin within ten days of fever onset improves\r\nclinical outcomes and reduces the incidence of coronary artery dilation to less than 5%. Given its severe morbidity and potential\r\nmortality, Kawasaki disease should be considered as a potential diagnosis in cases of prolonged paediatric fever.
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