Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome is also known as Kawasaki disease. It is a rare inflammatory disease affecting the body’s blood vessels. Learn how to recognize the Kawasaki disease and how to treat it.
What is Kawasaki disease?
Kawasaki disease causes swelling (inflammation) in the walls of the medium-sized arteries of the body. It mostly affects children. Inflammation continues to affect the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle.
Kawasaki disease is also known to as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome. Because it often affects glands that swell during infection (lymph nodes), skin, and mucous membranes within the mouth, nose, and throat.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of Kawasaki disease usually occur in three stages.
1st Stage:
Signs and signs of the first stage can include:
- A fever that is sometimes higher than 102.2 F (39 C) and lasts more than three days
- Extremely red eyes and no thick discharge
- A rash in the main part of the body and the genital region
- Red, dry, split lips with an extremely red, swollen tongue
- The swollen, red skin on the palms of the hands and soles of the legs
- Swollen lymph nodes in the neck and possibly elsewhere
- Irritability
2nd Stage:
Your child may grow in the second phase of the disease:
- Peeling of the skin on the hands and feet, particularly the tips of the fingers and toes, sometimes in large sheets;
- Joint pain
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Abdominal pain
3rd Stage:
In the third phase of the illness, signs, and symptoms slowly vanish unless complications develop. It can take as long as eight weeks before the energy level becomes normal again.
Risk factors
The following are the risk factors of Kawasaki disease:
- Age: It is most likely to be between 1 year and 5 years of age.
- Gender: Boys are more likely than girls to acquire it
- Ethnic background: People of Asian origin, specifically Japanese or Chinese, and Black Americans, are more vulnerable to Kawasaki disease.
- Genetics: If parents have Kawasaki disease, children will be more likely to have Kawasaki disease. This suggests that it may be related to an inherited gene.
- Environment: In the Northern Hemisphere, from January to March, the rate is 40% higher than in August to October.
- Some suggest that it may be a reaction to such toxins or medications. But there is a lack of scientific data.
Complications
Kawasaki disease is the main cause of heart disease in children. However, with effective treatment, only a few children have suffered an injury.
Complications of the heart include:
- Inflammation of blood vessels that supply blood to the heart, normal coronary arteries;
- Inflammation of the heart muscle
- Heart valve problems
All of these complications can affect the heart of your child. Inflammation of the coronary arteries can lead to weakness and bulging of the artery wall (aneurysm). Aneurysms increase the risk of blood clots, causing a heart attack or life-threatening internal bleeding.
For a tiny number of children with coronary artery disorders, Kawasaki disease may cause death. Even with proper treatment, death is possible.
What causes Kawasaki disease?
The exact cause of Kawasaki disease remains unclear. Researchers are going to speculate that a combination of genetics and environmental factors may cause KD. This may be because KD happens in specific seasons and tends to affect children of Asian descent.
Diagnosis
There is no clear test available to diagnose Kawasaki disease. Diagnosis includes the removal of other diseases that cause-related signs and symptoms, including:
- Scarlet fever, caused by streptococcal bacteria, resulting in fever, rash, chills and sore throat
- Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
- Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a mucous membrane disorder
- Toxic shock syndrome
- Measles
- Other tick-borne diseases, such as Rocky Mountain fever
The doctor will do a physical examination and prescribe tests to assist with the diagnosis. Tests can include:
- Blood tests. Blood tests aim to rule out other illnesses and check the child’s blood cell count. High white blood cell count and anaemia and inflammation are symptoms of Kawasaki disease.
- Testing for a substance called B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) released while the heart is under stress can help diagnose Kawasaki disease. The medical community needs more research, however, to confirm this result.
- Electrocardiogram. Electrodes are connected to your skin to monitor the electrical signals of your child’s heartbeat. Kawasaki disease may cause problems with heart rhythm.
- Echocardiogram. This test uses ultrasound images to show how well the heart works. It helps to identify the coronary arteries’ problems.
How is Kawasaki disease treated?
Children diagnosed with KD should start treatment immediately to prevent heart disease.
KD first-line treatment involves an injection of antibodies (intravenous immunoglobulin) over 12 hours within 10 days of fever. Also, a daily aspirin dose over the next four days. The child may need to continue taking lower doses of aspirin for six to eight weeks after the fever is gone. It is to prevent blood clots from developing.
One research has shown that the addition of prednisolone significantly reduced possible cardiac damage. However, the medical community needs more testing in other populations.
Timing is critical to the prevention of serious heart disease. Researches also report higher rates of resistance to the treatment given before the fifth day of fever. About 11 to 23 percent of children with KD would have resistance.
Some children will need longer treatment to prevent a blocked artery or heart attack. Of these cases, treatment requires daily injections of antiplatelet aspirin. Coronary artery abnormalities can take six to eight weeks to reverse.
The Bottom Line
KD is a disease that induces inflammation in the body, mainly in the blood vessels and lymph nodes. It mainly affects children under 5 years of age, but anyone can contract KD.
Symptoms are similar to fever, but show up in two different stages. Persistent, high fever that lasts longer than five days, swollen arms and feet are early-stage symptoms. In later stages, signs may include joint pain, skin peeling, and abdominal pain.
Speak to the doctor if your child has any of these signs. In some children, signs may appear incomplete, but KD may cause severe heart problems if left untreated. About 25% of cases that do develop into cardiac failure are due to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment.
There is no specific diagnostic test for KD. Your doctor will look at the signs and pre-tests of your children to rule out other disorders. Timely treatment will significantly improve outcomes for children with KD.
