The importance in ciinicai practice
It is important to consider a diagnosis of KD in the primary care setting, as the development of cardiac complications is only reduced when intravenous immunoglobulin is administered within a critical time frame (a maximum of 10 days) from the onset of the illness. In left untreated, KD cardiac complications, most commonly coronary artery dilatation and aneurysms, will develop in up to 40% of patients (Brogan et al, 2002) and can cause death or long-term morbidity. The outcome of KD is unaffected by antibiotic medication, which is the treatment that patients with acute febrile illness are most likely to receive. ImmunoglobuHn is a costly and relatively hazardous medication that is most unlikely to be given unless KD is considered.