Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile vasculitis of unkown origin. KD represents the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children in developed countries. In Mexico there are few reports of KD, and there are no reports of KD in infants.
Objective: To analyze the clinical spectrum, the incidence of coronary involvement and risk factors associated with coronary aneurisms in infants with KD in Mexico.
Patients and Methods: A retrospective study was performed on children one year of age or younger with KD from 1991 to May 2008.
Results: Thirty-three infants were diagnosed with KD during the study period. The median age of the patients was 8 months (2-12 months). The time from the onset of the clinical manifestations to diagnosis of KD was from 4 to 30 days (13.3 days). 28 patients (84%) received IVIG at diagnosis. 18 patients (54%) received high dose of aspirin and 15 patients (45%) received steroids and low dose aspirin. Twenty-two of our patients (66%) developed coronary aneurisms; two patients died of cardiogenic shock in the acute phase of the disease, one patient developed myocardial ischemia and underwent bypass surgery and died one year after the surgical procedure.
Conclusions. In Mexico as in other Latin American countries are few reports of KD. We present our experience in infants with KD. Near two thirds of our patients developed coronary aneurisms; most of the patients with coronary aneurisms were associated with late diagnosis and therefore late onset treatment.