The news of Jetta Travolta, son of John Travolta and Kelly Peterson died suddenly after suffering a seizure while he was on vacation with his family in Bahamas.
He was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease when he was just 15 months old.
Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys fame also announced of his son Baylee being diagnosed with this disease.
Kawasaki disease: it is an illness that young children get, in more medical terms acute self-limited immune-mediated form of vasculitis that primarily affects infants and young children.
This disease, which primarily affects infants and small children, is characterized by a sudden onset of fever, rash, and vasculitis.
Symptoms and Signs Children with Kawasaki disease may have a variety of different symptoms: •Abrupt onset of fever •Nausea •Vomiting •Gallbladder disease •Conjunctivitis affecting both eyes •reddened lips and oral mucosa •rashes •enlarged cervical lymph nodes •And may even have arthritis.
The cause of the Kawasaki disease is unknown, yet if the symptoms are recognized early, kids with this disease can fully recover within a few days.
Untreated, it may lead to serious complications like: •Coronary artery aneurysms •Heart attacks •Ischemic heart disease •Coronary thrombosis (blood clots) This disease is the most common cause of heart disease in children.
Rashes of Kawasaki disease: The rash in the disease, have different forms, though the most commonly form is a nonspecific, diffuse, eruption of flattened papules.
The rashes cover the entire body, including the trunk and extremities, and also causing itching.
A reddened "strawberry" tongue may also occur.
Causes and Diagnosis The causes of Kawasaki disease remain perplexing.
No specific infectious agent has been identified in this disease, but an infectious trigger is suspected.
There are no specific diagnostic tests available.
The disease is suspected when the characteristic signs and symptoms being present in small children.
Complication in Diagnosis: An incomplete form of this disease, i.
e.
only a few of the characteristic signs occurs and thus it makes difficult to distinguish from viral as well as Staphylococcus and Sreptococcus infections.
Also in past the disease was been misdiagnosed as polyarteritis nodosa with reports of old cases appearing identical to fatal cases of this disease today.
Complications also occur when symptoms show up at different times, sometimes not occurring until the initial abrupt onset of symptoms appears to have resolved.
Treatment: Treatment consists of aspirin therapy and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy.