Surgical management of the cardiovascular complications of Kawasaki's disease

Abstract

During a 31-year period, 54 patients were treated for Kawasaki's disease at the Texas Heart Institute and Texas Children's Hospital. Classically, the illness is characterized by prolonged fever, conjunctivitis, oral mucosal inflammation, exanthema, and later skin desquamation and cervical lymphoadenopathy. Seventy percent of patients have electrocardiographic abnormalities consisting of prolongation of the PR and QT intervals and ST-T wave changes. Most deaths occur within 1 to 2 months after onset of the disease. The risk of coronary abnormalities and cardiac death appear to be higher in those patients under 1 year of age with prolonged fever, elevated white blood count, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.