CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS OF KAWASAKI DISEASE: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Kawasaki Disease is a self-limited vasculitis that affects, mainly, young childrens and infants of Asian ancestry. This illness, however, has become the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children in developed countries, and can cause repercussions not only in the acute phase but later. Thus, if there is a delay in starting treatment the risk of unwanted cardiovascular outcomes can reach 20%. The objective of this study was to define the main cardiovascular consequences of this vasculitis and risk factors associated with its development, a search for previous works was carried out on the PubMed and Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS) platforms using the descriptors ``Kawasaki Disease Children's”, “Cardiovascular Complications”, “Coronary artery aneurysm” connected by the Boolean operator “AND”, and after application of inclusion and exclusion criteria a total of 24 scientific article were selected. Through the studies analyzed, it was observed that the cardiovascular adverse effects more frequently related with Kawasaki Disease were coronary artery aneurysms and acute myocardial infarction. Furthermore, it was identificated that exist factors correlated to the patient himself and his laboratory data that improve the chance of these complications. That way, the impact of accurate diagnosis, early treatment and support of these patients in reducing the risk of cardiovascular unwanted events is evidenced.