What does Kawasaki syndrome cause?
Kawasaki syndrome progresses through three different stages: Acute phase : This is when symptoms are most severe. It usually lasts 1-2 weeks. Subacute phase : At this stage, the child’s fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes go away. However, the child still feels irritable, has a poor appetite and slight eye redness, and may develop peeling skin on the fingers and toes. This stage usually ends 3-4 weeks after the fever began. Convalescent stage : This stage begins when all clinical symptoms are gone, but the results of a blood test indicate that there is still inflammation in the body. The convalescent stage ends when the test results return to normal, usually 6-8 weeks after the fever began. About 20% of the cases have complications involving the cardiovascular system. These complications include myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscle), pericarditis (inflammation of membranes covering the heart) or valvulitis (inflammation of the heart valves). However, the most important problem re