• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.79-83
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• 2012

Reye syndrome is a rapidly progressive encephalopathy with hepatic dysfunction, which often begins several days after apparent recovery from a viral illness, especially varicella or influenza A or B. Salicylate use was identified as a major precipitating factor for the development of Reye syndrome. With the recommendation to avoid use of salicylates in children, Reye syndrome has virtually disappeared in recent years. We report a case of Reye syndrome in a 5-month-old infant who had been treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin under the diagnosis of Kawasaki disease, and showed symptoms of sudden onset of irritability, rigidity, decreased activity, vomiting, poor appetite, lethargy, liver dysfunction without jaundice, coagulopathy, and hyperammonemia.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.9
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• pp.334-339
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• 2019

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis in infants and young children. However, its natural history has not been fully elucidated because the first case was reported in the late 1960s and patients who have recovered are just now entering middle age. Nevertheless, much evidence has raised concerns regarding the subclinical vascular changes that occur in post-KD patients. KD research has focused on coronary artery aneurysms because they are directly associated with fatality. However, aneurysms have been reported in other extracardiac muscular arteries and their fate seems to resemble that of coronary artery aneurysms. Arterial strokes in KD cases are rarely reported. Asymptomatic ischemic lesions were observed in a prospective study of brain vascular lesions in KD patients with coronary artery aneurysms. The findings of a study of single-photon emission computed tomography suggested that asymptomatic cerebral vasculitis is more common than we believed. Some authors assumed that the need to consider the possibility of brain vascular lesions in severe cases of KD regardless of presence or absence of neurological symptoms. These findings suggest that KD is related with cerebrovascular lesions in children and young adults. Considering the fatal consequences of cerebral vascular involvement in KD patients, increased attention is required. Here we review our understanding of brain vascular involvement in KD.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.188-193
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• 2016

Purpose: This study identified the characteristics differentiating node-first presentation of Kawasaki disease (NFKD) from bacterial cervical lymphadenitis (BCL) and typical Kawasaki disease (KD). Methods: From July 2007 to June 2015, the medical records of patients with BCL, NFKD, and typical KD were retrospectively reviewed. We analyzed and compared the demographic, clinical, laboratory, and imaging characteristics of the cohorts. Results: Twenty-two patients with BCL, 37 with NFKD, and 132 with typical KD were included in this study. Patients with BCL had longer durations of hospitalization than patients with NFKD. Bilateral and multiple enlarged cervical lymph nodes were associated more with NFKD than BCL. Compared with BCL patients, NFKD patients had lower platelet counts, higher percentages of neutrophils, and higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. NFKD patients were older and presented with higher white blood cell counts, percentages of neutrophils, absolute neutrophil counts, and CRP levels as well as lower platelet counts and alanine aminotransferase levels than typical KD patients. Conclusions: In febrile patients with cervical lymphadenopathy, the combination of bilateral and multiple enlarged nodes, low platelet count, high percentage of neutrophils, and high CRP levels should prompt consideration of NFKD for prevention of delayed diagnosis of KD.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.896-901
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• 2002

Purpose : The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiology of Kawasaki disease in the Kyung Nam area and to evaluate whether the results of this epidemiological study could support infectious etiology. Methods : We sent a questionnaire to three training hospitals in the Kyung Nam area and retrospectively reviewed their medical records of Kawasaki disease from Jun. 1995 to Dec. 1999. Results : The total number of patients was 717 cases, with little differences of annual prevalence during the five years. In all cases, the monthly prevalence of Kawasaki disease was high in Apr. and Jul. At the eastern of Kyung Nam, the monthly prevalence was high in Apr. and Jul. in 1995 and 1996, Jul. in 1997, Apr. in 1998 and Apr. and Jul. in 1999. In the central area of Kyung Nam, the monthly prevalence was high in Apr. in 1995 and 1996, Apr. and Jul. in 1997 and Jul. in 1998 and 1999. In the western Kyung Nam, the monthly prevalence was high in Nov. in 1995, Aug. in 1996, Oct. in 1997, Dec. in 1998 and Nov. in 1999. Conclusion : In the eastern and central areas of Kyung Nam, the monthly prevalence of Kawasaki disease was similarly high in Apr. and Jul. However, in the western district, the prevalence was high in late fall and winter. We could not prove the hypothesis that Kawasaki disease occurred with the spread of single infectious agent, but the a nnually similar prevalence in eastern and central Kyung Nam supported the infection theory for the etiology of the disease.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.87-92
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• 2009

Purpose : Many gene polymorphisms are associated with coronary artery abnormalities in Kawasaki disease. Catechol-O- methyltransferase (COMT) plays an important role in the metabolism of catecholamines, catechol estrogen, and catechol drugs. Polymorphisms of the COMT gene are reported to be associated with myocardial infarction and coronary artery abnormalities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between COMT gene polymorphisms and coronary artery abnormalities in Kawasaki disease patients. Methods : One hundred and one Korean children with Kawasaki disease and 306 healthy Korean control subjects were enrolled in this study. The polymorphisms of the COMT gene were analyzed by direct sequencing. Results : There were no differences in the genotype and allelic frequency of the rs4680 and rs769224 polymorphic sites between Kawasaki disease and control subjects. Further, no significant difference was found in the rs4680 polymorphism between patients with coronary artery abnormalities and patients without coronary artery abnormalities (codominant P=0.32, dominant P=0.74, recessive P=0.13). However, the distribution of the rs769224 polymorphism was significantly different between patients with coronary artery abnormalities and patients without coronary artery abnormalities (codominant P= 0.0077, dominant P=0.0021, recessive P=0.16). Conclusion : Our results indicate that the polymorphisms of the rs769224 gene might be related to the development of coronary artery abnormalities in Kawasaki disease.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.225-230
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• 2014

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an immune-mediated disease which is a leading cause of acquired cardiovascular disease in developed country. Recently, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) blocker, infliximab has been considered a promising option for patients with refractory KD. Although chronic use of a TNF-alpha blocker could increase risk of opportunistic infections, a few studies have documented that use of infliximab was safe without serious adverse effects in patients with KD. We observed serious bacterial infection after infliximab treatment in an infant with refractory KD. Our patient was a 5-month-old male infant diagnosed with KD who did not respond to repeated doses of intravenous immunoglobulin. We effectively treated him with a single infusion of infliximab (5 mg/kg), but gram-negative (Acinetobacter lwoffii) septicemia developed after infliximab infusion. Therefore, we report a case of serious septicemia after treatment with infliximab, and suggest considering the risk of severe infection when deciding whether to prescribe infliximab to an infant with refractory KD.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.3
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• pp.96-97
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• 2020

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.9
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• pp.335-336
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• 2020

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.1192-1198
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• 2002

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.124-125
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• 2019