Case report: corticosteroid as an alternative therapy for Kawasaki disease

Abstract

Background: Kawasaki disease is an acute febrile illness with systemic vasculitis and predominantly causes acquired heart disease. The etiology is still unknown, and there is no specific diagnostic test. The diagnosis was made using clinical criteria, laboratory and echocardiographic findings. It is characterized by fever, bilateral non-exudative conjunctivitis, erythema of lips and oral mucosa, rash, cervical lymphadenopathy, edema and erythema of the hand and foot. The initial treatment for both complete and incomplete Kawasaki disease is a single high dose of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and aspirin. The place of corticosteroids in the initial therapy is still controversial. Case Description: A 3-year-old boy presented with a 7-day history of high fever and not relieved by antipyretic, which was followed by a maculopapular rash on his trunk and extremities, vomiting, reduced appetite, red on her lips and eyes who aspirin, IVIG and corticosteroid treated as initial therapy. He showed clinical improvement and did not have cardiovascular complications. Conclusion: We report a case of Kawasaki disease in a 3-year-old boy. This case highlighted that adding corticosteroids to IVIG and aspirin as initial therapy might improve outcomes in Kawasaki disease and could be selected as a treatment modality to treat Kawasaki disease.