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Comorbidity of Kawasaki disease and group A streptococcal pleural effusion in a healthy child: a case report

Authors Alhammadi AH, Hendaus MA

Received 5 June 2013

Accepted for publication 25 June 2013

Published 23 July 2013 Volume 2013:6 Pages 613—616

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S49510

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2



Ahmed H Alhammadi, Mohamed A Hendaus

General Pediatrics Section, Department of Pediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

Background: Kawasaki disease is an acute self-limiting vasculitis that affects children. The most dreaded complication of Kawasaki disease reported in the literature over the years is coronary artery disease, which is considered as the main cause of acquired heart disease. However, pulmonary associations with Kawasaki disease have been overlooked. We present a rare, if not unique, case of Kawasaki disease associated with group A streptococcus pleural effusion in the English language literature. A search of the PubMed database was carried out, using a combination of the terms “Kawasaki disease”, “pneumonia”, and “group A streptococcus”. The majority of studies conducted in children with Kawasaki disease have concentrated on the coronary artery implications. Kawasaki disease is considered a self-limiting illness, but can have detrimental consequences if not diagnosed early. When there is a prolonged inflammatory reaction, with no infectious agent identified or remittent fever unresponsive to antibiotics, Kawasaki disease should be taken into consideration. Elevated Vβ2+ T cells compared with healthy controls suggest possible involvement of a superantigen in the etiology of Kawasaki disease, so it is wise that the health care provider concentrates not only on the cardiac consequences, but also on pulmonary associations.

Keywords: Kawasaki disease, pneumonia, group A streptococcus

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