KDFI secretary general & web site co-ordinator
DR SAJI PHILIP
Pediatric & Fetal Cardiology Services
Founder President of KD Foundation & Indian Society of Kawasaki Disease
Tiruvalla Medical Mission, Tiruvalla 689101.
0469 2626000/2626262.
EMAIL:drsaji@kawasakidiseaseindia.org tfcsaji@hotmail.com
Phone : +91 8301000100 (Call Time 9-10pm )
Pediatric & Fetal Cardiology Services
Founder President of KD Foundation & Indian Society of Kawasaki Disease
Tiruvalla Medical Mission, Tiruvalla 689101.
0469 2626000/2626262.
EMAIL:drsaji@kawasakidiseaseindia.org tfcsaji@hotmail.com
Phone : +91 8301000100 (Call Time 9-10pm )
Welcome to the Kawasaki Disease Foundation in India, a non-profit organization to take care of children with Kawasaki Disease in India especially to support children with coronary artery disease. I hope KDFI will run with the support of Health care professionals, well wishers of KD, parents and patients dedicated to advancing Kawasaki Disease issues. The Foundation focuses on awareness, support, and encourages research in KD.Kawasaki disease (KD) is An acute self-limiting Systemic Vasculitis of unknown etiology.
Kawasaki Disease was first described by Dr Tomisaku Kawasaki in Japan in 1967, since then prevalence of KD is increasing in all countries as per the reports in journals. This is more prevalent in Asian pacific regions. Kawasaki Syndrome (KS) is the most common cause of acquired heart disease in the U.S. and Japan. High endemic rate of 150 per 100,000 in children less than 5 years of age in Japan First case of kawasaki disease in Kerala was reported in 1997 by Dr. Noel Narayanan, former professor and HOD of Pediatrics, MCH Trivandrum and we are proud of his contribution in KD.
Kawasaki Disease
Kawasaki disease (KD) was first reported from Japan in 1967 by a young pediatrician, Tomisaku Kawasaki, while working at the Red Cross Hospital in Tokyo. Soon therafter, Marian Melish independently reported children with a similar clinical profile from Hawaii in the United States. KD has now been reported from all parts of the world, including several centers in India. Based on the epidemiology and clinical features, an infectious etiology has been suspected for long but no definitive causative agent has been implicated so far. Like many other vasculitides, the diagnosis of this condition is based on the recognition of a temporal sequence of clinical features, none of which is pathognomonic in isolation.
Kawasaki disease (KD) was first reported from Japan in 1967 by a young pediatrician, Tomisaku Kawasaki, while working at the Red Cross Hospital in Tokyo. Soon therafter, Marian Melish independently reported children with a similar clinical profile from Hawaii in the United States. KD has now been reported from all parts of the world, including several centers in India. Based on the epidemiology and clinical features, an infectious etiology has been suspected for long but no definitive causative agent has been implicated so far. Like many other vasculitides, the diagnosis of this condition is based on the recognition of a temporal sequence of clinical features, none of which is pathognomonic in isolation.
Dr.Tomisaku Kawasaki
KD is believed to be the commonest vasculitic disorder of children. Incidence rates as high as 60-150 per 100,000 children below 5 years of age have been reported from several countries. In India (as also perhaps in many other developing countries), however, majority of children with KD continue to remain undiagnosed probably because of the lack of awareness amongst pediatricians. The clinical features of KD can be confused with other common conditions like measles fever, scarlet fever and the Stevens Johnson syndrome etc, if the clinician is not careful. Development of coronary artery abnormalities (CAA) is the hallmark of KD and accounts for most of the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. Prompt recognition of the disease and early initiation of treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) results in significant reduction in the occurrence of CAA. It is, therefore, imperative for the pediatrician to diagnose and treat KD expeditiously. KD should be considered in the differential diagnosis of all febrile illnesses in young children where the fever persists for more than 5-7days.
