Kawasaki disease history and symptoms

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Dildar Hussain, MBBS [2]

Kawasaki disease often begins with a high and persistent fever that is not very responsive to normal doses of acetaminophen or ibuprofen. The fever may persist and rise steadily for up to two weeks and is normally accompanied by irritability. Affected children develop redness of the eyes, mucous membranes, and lips, a “strawberry tongue“, iritis, keratic precipitates (detected by an ophthalmologist but usually too small to be seen by the naked eye), and swollen lymph nodes. Skin rash occur early in the disease, and peeling of the skin in the genital area, hands, and feet may occur in the later phases. Some of these symptoms may come and go during the course of the illness.

Symptoms of Kawasaki disease include a high and persistent fever, skin rashes, desquamation of skin, irritability, erythema of the eyes, lips, and mucous membranes, strawberry tongue, iritis, keratic precipitates, and swollen lymph nodes.^[1]

Patients with Kawasaki disease may have a positive history of:

• Fever not responsive to acetaminophen or ibuprofen

Common symptoms of Kawasaki disease include:

• High grade fever
  • Greater than 39 °C or 102 °F; often as high as 40 °C or 104 °F that normally lasts for more than a week if left untreated
• Redness of eyes
• Fissuring of the lips
• Red discoloration of the tongue
• Redness of palms and soles
• Peeling of skin
• Red mucous membranes
• Neck swelling
• Rash

Less common symptoms of Kawasaki disease include:

• Eye redness, pain, and blurred vision
• Tachycardia
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Cough
• Irritability
• Joint pains
• Anorexia
• Weakness
• Rhinorrhea

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