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Yokouchi Y, Asakawa N, Iwase H, Nasu T, Takahashi K. Autopsy report of a sudden infant death that was strongly suspicious of Kawasaki disease. Pathol Int 2024; 74:408-414. [PMID: 38751008 DOI: 10.1111/pin.13437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Revised: 04/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
We conducted an autopsy on a 3-month-old boy in whom Kawasaki disease (KD) was strongly suspected based on the autopsy findings. The infant had a fever and was brought to a nearby clinic, where he was prescribed antipyretics and kept under observation. However, 15 days after onset of the fever, he suddenly died in bed. He exhibited no obvious redness of the lips, tongue, or conjunctiva. Membranous desquamation was present on his distal fingers. Vasculitis was observed in the coronary arteries, renal artery, splenic artery, and pulmonary vein. In addition, coronary artery aneurysms were present in the right coronary artery and left anterior descending artery. Thrombotic occlusion was observed in one aneurysm in the right coronary artery, resulting in acute myocardial infarction. The coronary artery wall showed infiltration of numerous macrophages and neutrophils. This case was classified as incomplete KD because the coronary artery aneurysm could not be demonstrated before death and was only recognized at autopsy. Pathologists and forensic scientists need to be aware that there are cases in which KD goes undiagnosed and untreated, leading to coronary artery aneurysm formation and sudden death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Yokouchi
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Toho University Ohashi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nanae Asakawa
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Toho University Ohashi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hirotaro Iwase
- Department of Legal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | | | - Kei Takahashi
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Toho University Ohashi Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan
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Visi G, Spina F, Del Duca F, Manetti AC, Maiese A, La Russa R, Frati P, Fineschi V. Autoptic Findings in Cases of Sudden Death Due to Kawasaki Disease. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:diagnostics13111831. [PMID: 37296682 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13111831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Kawasaki disease (KD) is the second-most-common childhood vasculitis, and its etiology is still unknown today. Even though the acute illness is usually self-limiting, sometimes, it can generate complications, such as coronary artery aneurysms (CAA), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, or arrhythmias, and can rarely cause sudden or unexpected deaths. We present a review of the literature, which collects autoptic and histopathological data relating to many of the cases of these deaths. On the basis of the titles and abstracts, we selected 54 scientific publications for a total of 117 cases. Among them, as expected, the majority of the deaths were due to AMI (41.03%), arrhythmia (8.55%), acute coronary syndrome (8.55%), and CAA rupture (11.97%), involving mostly 20-year-olds or younger individuls (69.23%). This is not surprising since the CAs are the most involved arteries. Gross autoptic and histopathological findings are reported in the paper. Our work revealed that, when compared with the incidence of KD, only a few cases suffered from sudden death, underwent an autoptic examination, and were then described in the literature. We suggest that researchers should perform autopsies to gain a better understanding of the molecular pathways involved in KD so as to propose further innovative therapeutic protocols or implement more appropriate prevention schemes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Visi
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Federica Spina
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Fabio Del Duca
- Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Alice Chiara Manetti
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Aniello Maiese
- Department of Surgical Pathology, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Raffaele La Russa
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Forensic Pathology, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
| | - Paola Frati
- Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Vittorio Fineschi
- Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Conte C, Sogni F, Rigante D, Esposito S. An Update on Reports of Atypical Presentations of Kawasaki Disease and the Recognition of IVIG Non-Responder Children. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:diagnostics13081441. [PMID: 37189542 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13081441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis with an intrinsic risk of severe involvement of coronary arteries. The worldwide spread of KD and the importance of early diagnosis for preventing cardiovascular complications have ascertained the need for updating guidelines for prompt disease recognition and treatment efficacy assessment. All KD patients who comply with the definition of classic or atypical disease should be treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) soon after diagnosis. The objective of our narrative review was to analyze the medical literature about case reports with atypical KD in relation to diagnosis and potential identification of predictors of non-responsiveness to IVIG. Our analysis has shown that the seminal challenge in KD management is the timeliness of diagnosis, although both extreme variability and transience of clinical manifestations make this goal difficult. A non-negligible percentage of patients, especially in the first 6 months of life, might have atypical manifestations of KD, whose painstaking differential diagnosis may be tricky. Many attempts to develop universal scoring systems and detect children at higher risk of IVIG resistance have been rather unsuccessful. Additionally, KD may show different evolutions according to unraveled demographic, genetic, or epigenetic factors. Further research is needed to elucidate all open questions about KD and clarify the long-term outcome of its potential complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristiano Conte
- Pediatric Clinic, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University Hospital, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy
| | - Francesco Sogni
- Pediatric Clinic, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University Hospital, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy
| | - Donato Rigante
- Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy
- Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Susanna Esposito
- Pediatric Clinic, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University Hospital, University of Parma, 43126 Parma, Italy
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Chuang GT, Tsai IJ, Lin MT, Chang LY. Acute kidney injury in patients with Kawasaki disease. Pediatr Res 2016; 80:224-7. [PMID: 27064240 DOI: 10.1038/pr.2016.81] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 02/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Kawasaki disease was well known for coronary artery abnormalities with few reports of incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI). Our aim was to identify the rate of AKI in patients with Kawasaki disease and its associated factors. METHODS All patients with Kawasaki disease admitted to a medical center from February 2004 to August 2014 were evaluated. Data collection included serum creatinine level, serial echocardiography reports, white blood cell count, C-reactive protein level, alanine transaminase level, urine white blood cell count, and renal ultrasound reports if available. AKI was defined when a patient's serum creatinine level was higher than 1.5 times upper limits of age-specific serum creatinine levels. RESULTS This cohort study included 332 patients (191 boys and 141 girls; aged 0.12 to 11.3 y, median 1.39 y) and 93 patients (28%) of them had AKI. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that age and alanine transaminase level were significantly associated with AKI (odds ratio (OR): 0.521, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.377-0.718, P < 0.001, and OR: 1.003, 95% CI: 1.000-1.005, P = 0.017, respectively). CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that AKI exists in substantial proportion of patients with KD. Young age and high alanine transaminase level are the main associated factors for AKI in these patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwo-Tsann Chuang
- Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - I-Jung Tsai
- Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Tai Lin
- Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Luan-Yin Chang
- Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Kidney and urinary tract involvement in kawasaki disease. Int J Pediatr 2013; 2013:831834. [PMID: 24288547 PMCID: PMC3833317 DOI: 10.1155/2013/831834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2013] [Revised: 09/12/2013] [Accepted: 09/17/2013] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Kawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis and can develop multiple organ injuries including kidney and urinary tract involvement. These disorders include pyuria, prerenal acute kidney injury (AKI), renal AKI caused by tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN), hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and immune-complex mediated nephropathy, renal AKI associated with either Kawasaki disease shock syndrome or unknown causes, acute nephritic syndrome (ANS), nephrotic syndrome (NS), renal tubular abnormalities, renal abnormalities in imaging studies, and renal artery lesions (aneurysms and stenosis). Pyuria is common in KD and originates from the urethra and/or the kidney. TIN with AKI and renal tubular abnormalities probably result from renal parenchymal inflammation caused by T-cell activation. HUS and renal artery lesions are caused by vascular endothelial injuries resulting from vasculitis. Some patients with ANS have immunological abnormalities associated with immune-complex formation. Nephromegaly and renal parenchymal inflammatory foci are detected frequently in patients with KD by renal ultrasonography and renal scintigraphy, respectively. Although the precise pathogenesis of KD is not completely understood, renal vasculitis, immune-complex mediated kidney injuries, or T-cell immune-regulatory abnormalities have been proposed as possible mechanisms for the development of kidney and urinary tract injuries.
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Macias ES, Pereira FA, Rietkerk W, Safai B. Superantigens in dermatology. J Am Acad Dermatol 2011; 64:455-72; quiz 473-4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2010.03.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2009] [Revised: 02/18/2010] [Accepted: 03/03/2010] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Dillon MJ, Eleftheriou D, Brogan PA. Medium-size-vessel vasculitis. Pediatr Nephrol 2010; 25:1641-52. [PMID: 19946711 PMCID: PMC2908435 DOI: 10.1007/s00467-009-1336-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2009] [Revised: 09/10/2009] [Accepted: 09/11/2009] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Medium-size-artery vasculitides do occur in childhood and manifest, in the main, as polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), cutaneous PAN and Kawasaki disease. Of these, PAN is the most serious, with high morbidity and not inconsequential mortality rates. New classification criteria for PAN have been validated that will have value in epidemiological studies and clinical trials. Renal involvement is common and recent therapeutic advances may result in improved treatment options. Cutaneous PAN is a milder disease characterised by periodic exacerbations and often associated with streptococcal infection. There is controversy as to whether this is a separate entity or part of the systemic PAN spectrum. Kawasaki disease is an acute self-limiting systemic vasculitis, the second commonest vasculitis in childhood and the commonest cause of childhood-acquired heart disease. Renal manifestations occur and include tubulointerstitial nephritis and renal failure. An infectious trigger and a genetic predisposition seem likely. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IV-Ig) and aspirin are effective therapeutically, but in resistant cases, either steroid or infliximab have a role. Greater understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms involved in these three types of vasculitis and better long-term follow-up data will lead to improved therapy and prediction of prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Dillon
- Nephrourology Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK.
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Abstract
Kawasaki disease (KD) is the most common systemic vasculitis in childhood after Henoch-Schonlein purpura, and the most common cause of acquired heart disease among children living in Western countries. Its diagnosis relies on clinical findings; laboratory tests are useful to rule out other causes of unexplained fever but are not specific for the diagnosis of KD. Numerous efforts to produce a diagnostic algorithm have been made, but without success. Expert opinion is therefore required in doubtful cases, especially those that lack classical criteria (the so-called atypical or incomplete cases). Renal, gastrointestinal, neurologic, pulmonary and ocular involvements have all been described. Infants may be at higher risk of complications since recognising manifestations of the disease might be more difficult in this group. Approaches to treatment and follow-up of KD are changing in parallel with changes in concepts of what constitutes classical and incomplete KD. Guiding this evolution is the probability that the diagnosis is actually KD, the duration of the child's illness and the desired effects of therapy. Until a gold standard for diagnosing KD is available, these therapeutic decisions will continue to be made on an individual basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Cimaz
- AOU Meyer and University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy.
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