Head and neck manifestations of Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki disease, also known as acute infantile febrile mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, is a self-limited vasculitic disease of infants and young c hildren. The cause of the disease remains uncertain. Within the constellati on of signs and symptoms, there are numerous otolaryngologic manifestations . The following represents the largest series of patients in the otolaryngo logy literature, involving 155 confirmed cases of Kawasaki disease as treat ed at our institution during the last 10 years. The demographic data, clini cal pictures of the typical and atypical forms of the illness, as well as t he laboratory values, therapy and complications are discussed. (C) 2000 Els evier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.