Sudden infant death caused by a ruptured coronary aneurysm during acute phase of atypical Kawasaki disease.

This article describe's a case of atypical Kawasaki disease (AKD) with lack of typical clinical signs and rapid fatal course in a 2-month-old infant, who 1 week before hospitalization demonstrated rhinitis, coughing without fever, and later conjunctival hyperemia and allergic exanthema on chest and arms. On admittance, labwork highlighted the following: leukocytosis, thrombocytosis, elevated sedimentation rate, and positive C-reactive protein. General conditions remained mediocre for 7 days until sudden death occurred. The autopsy confirmed death caused by cardiac tamponade caused by a ruptured inflammated aneurysm of the left anterior descending coronary artery. We believe that the currently accepted clinical diagnostics criteria for KD in infants 2 years of age or younger can cause missed in vita diagnosis of AKD. For such, any typical clinical sign of KD whenever associated with thrombocytosis and elevated indices of phlogosis, should led to suspicion of KD and permit cardiovascular examination, and thus early treatment. Copyright 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company