Aneurysms of the coronary arteries in infants and children

Summary

In recent years large numbers of the so-called “mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome” or “Kawasaki's disease” have been described by Japanese workers, but instances of this disorder are only now being reported as isolated cases by European or North American physicians. The disease has, therefore, been considered to be a new entity. One of its most striking features is the development of aneurysms of the coronary arteries in infants or children, which may lead to sudden death. Aneurysms of the coronary arteries in childhood are rare, and hence it was considered relevant to report six such cases, and to examine their possible relationship to Kawasaki's disease. The pathological changes underlying the latter disorder are not well known; they are considered to be indistinguishable from infantile polyarteritis nodosa. A diagnosis of polyarteritis nodosa was also thought to be most likely to apply in the cases presented here, particularly in view of the frequency with which aneurysms of the coronary arteries have been found in this disorder. In the absence of valid pathological distinctions between Kawasaki's disease and infantile polyarteritis nodosa, the question arises whether these entities are, in fact, different, and whether Kawasaki's disease is the new entity it is assumed to be.