Comorbidity of Kawasaki disease and group a streptococcal pleural effusion in a healthy child: a case report

Unusual Manifestations of Kawasaki Disease in the COVID Era: A Case Series and Review of the Literature

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute medium-vessel vasculitis, mainly affecting infants older than six months and children under five years. It predisposes to the development of coronary artery aneurysms and constitutes the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children. Its diagnosis is based on clinical criteria, namely, fever lasting for ≥ five days together with at least four of the five principal clinical features of the disease. Occasionally, children with KD present with fever, but they fulfill only some of the five principal criteria, and this is described as incomplete KD. Furthermore, "atypical" KD is a term that is usually used for cases that appear with rather unusual clinical manifestations, which complicate clinical judgment and may delay diagnosis and treatment. In this case series, we present four cases of KD with rather unusual clinical features: a five-year-old boy with lobar pneumonia, a six-year-old girl with orange-brown chromonychia appearing on the 10th day of the disease, a 2.5-month-old infant with prolonged fever and urinary tract infection, and an 18-month-old infant with refractory KD and high suspicion of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). A literature review on the unusual manifestations of atypical KD was performed to identify clinical findings that must alert the clinician to consider this clinical entity.

Pneumonia in the presentation of Kawasaki disease: The syndrome or a sequence of two diseases?

Two cases of Kawasaki disease (KD) presented as persistent lung consolidation associated with Group A Streptococcus and Influenza A co-infection, which resolved following intravenous immunoglobulin. Thus, pediatricians should consider the diagnosis of KD in the presence of pneumonia that is nonresponsive to antibiotic therapy with prolonged fever and inflammatory reactions.

Pleural effusion as an atypical presentation of Kawasaki disease: a case report and review of the literature

Background

Kawasaki disease is an acute, febrile vasculitis of childhood that affects medium-sized arteries, predominantly the coronary arteries. It is a multisystem disease; therefore, it may present with non-cardiac findings of disease.

Case presentation

Here, we report the case of 7-year-old Turkish girl who presented with symptoms of fever, chest pain, and vomiting, who was diagnosed as having Kawasaki disease. We also present a literature review on pulmonary involvement due to Kawasaki disease.

Conclusion

Pediatricians should consider the diagnosis of Kawasaki disease in the presence of pneumonia and pleural effusion that is nonresponsive to antibiotic therapy. This will prevent delay in diagnosis and the adverse consequences of the disease.

Kawasaki Shock Syndrome in a 12-Year-Old Girl Mimicking Septic Shock

Kawasaki disease is diagnosed when fever lasts for more than 5 days with the presence of four out of five of the following clinical features: bilateral conjunctival congestion, changes in the lips and oral cavity, polymorphous exanthem, changes in peripheral extremities, and acute nonpurulent cervical lymphadenopathy (Nakamura et al., 2012). The average age of onset is 2 years and 90% of patients are below 5 years of age. Boys are more affected than girls (Cox and Sallis, 2009). This case report describes an adolescent female who was initially managed as having septic shock and subsequently found to have Kawasaki shock syndrome.

[Changes in 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 level and its significance in children with Kawasaki disease]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the changes in the serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25-(OH)D3] and its significance in children with Kawasaki disease (KD).

METHODS

The clinical data of 242 KD children were collected. According to the presence or absence of coronary artery lesion (CAL), these children were classified into CAL group (63 children) and non-CAL (NCAL) group (179 children). According to the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), these children were classified into IVIG-sensitive group (219 children) and no-IVIG-response group (23 children). A total of 40 healthy children (control group) and 40 children with acute upper respiratory tract infection (AURI group) were enrolled as controls. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied to measure the serum level of 25-(OH)D3.

RESULTS

Before IVIG treatment, the AURI, NCAL, and CAL groups had significantly lower serum levels of 25-(OH)D3 than the control group (P<0.05); the CAL group had a significantly lower serum level of 25-(OH)D3 than the AURI and NCAL groups (P<0.05); the AURI, IVIG-sensitive, and no-IVIG-response groups had significantly lower serum levels of 25-(OH)D3 than the control group (P<0.05); the no-IVIG-response group had a significantly lower serum level of 25-(OH)D3 than the AURI and IVIG-sensitive groups (P<0.05). After IVIG treatment, the CAL group had a significantly lower serum level of 25-(OH)D3 than the NCAL and control groups (P<0.05); the no-IVIG-response group had a significantly lower serum level of 25-(OH)D3 than the IVIG-sensitive and control groups (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

KD children may experience a reduction in the serum level of 25-(OH)D3. With a greater reduction in the serum level of 25-(OH)D3, the possibility of CAL and KD with no response to treatment increases.