CEREBRAL HYPOPERFUSION DURING ACUTE KAWASAKI-DISEASE

Background and Purpose-Kawasaki disease is a febrile disease of childr en notable for systemic vasculitis. There have been many previous repo rts of various complications, including disorders of the central nervo us system. We evaluated cerebral perfusion during the acute stage in p atients with Kawasaki disease. Methods-Single-photon emission-computed tomography (SPECT) with Tc-99m-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime was per formed in 21 children with acute stage Kawasaki disease. Follow-up SPE CT and MRI were performed about 1 month after the first SPECT in patie nts who exhibited abnormal SPECT findings during the acute stage. Resu lts-In 6 of 21 children SPECT imaging demonstrated localized cerebral hypoperfusion without abnormal neurological findings or clinical sympt oms, and the follow-up SPECT and MRI approximately 1 month after the f irst SPECT revealed no abnormalities. Conclusions-Some patients with K awasaki disease have transient localized cerebral hypoperfusion at the acute stage.