What it means
A disease that mostly affects children under 5, named after Tomisaku Kawasaki, the Japanese doctor who described it in 1967. The cause is not known. The child has a high fever for 5 days or more, with red eyes, red cracked lips and a "strawberry" tongue, a rash, swollen hands and feet that later peel, and a swollen lymph node in the neck. Its most serious risk is damage to the coronary arteryKOR-uh-nair-ee AR-ter-eeOne of the blood vessels on the surface of the heart that bring oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle.Full entry , such as an aneurysm.
For the nurse
Treatment is IV immune globulin and aspirin. Watch the heart (an echocardiogram is done), take temperatures and give mouth and skin care. Teach the family that live vaccines such as MMR and varicella are delayed for about 11 months after immune globulin, and to report flu or chickenpox exposure while on aspirin.
At a glance
| Spanish | enfermedad de Kawasaki |
|---|---|
| Also written | Kawasaki syndrome, mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome |
Related terms
coronary artery
One of the blood vessels on the surface of the heart that bring oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle.
inflammation
The body's protective response to injury or infection, with redness, heat, swelling, pain and sometimes loss of function.
aspirin
A drug that eases pain, fever and inflammation and makes platelets less sticky so blood clots less easily.