Hi Mummies,
my hubby just forwarded this... unsure whether true or not... but no harm reading...
S'PORE TODDLER HIT BY MYSTERIOUS KAWASAKI DISEASE
Mum's 8 days of fear
IT has been about a year since her daughter, Natalie, recovered from a severe bout of Kawasaki Disease.
By Dawn Chia
13 January 2003
IT has been about a year since her daughter, Natalie, recovered from a severe bout of Kawasaki Disease.
Yet, Madam Au Yoke Mei jumps each time there is any little sign that could point to its recurrence. Kawasaki Disease is a childhood illness that strikes young children. The cause of the disease is unknown. (See other report.)
Said Madam Au, a 32-year-old manager at Manulife Financial: 'My heart sinks in fear each time I hear that Natalie's got a fever. 'No matter where I am, I'd drop everything and rush home to be with her.
'Although the chances of recurrence are very low, I become paranoid when she has the slightest fever.'
A persistent fever is a symptom of Kawasaki Disease.
It first struck Natalie in December 2001. She was only 2 1/2 years old then. As is normal, Madam Au and her husband took her to the paediatrician, where she was given medication. Still, the fever raged on, worsening at night.
It was only after the cherubic toddler complained of a stomachache that Madam Au discovered her daughter had developed rashes around her hip and thigh.
Worried, she rushed her to hospital, where Natalie was admitted immediately. Doctors gave her antibiotics and medication to try to lower her temperature.
Madam Au recalled: 'It was very frightening. The fever just would not go away, and we did not know what we could do to make her feel better.
'We could only pray, and continue to surf the Internet to see if we could get some answers on what was afflicting her.'
Several rounds of blood tests, scans and blood cultures followed, but Natalie showed no signs of improvement. She had diarrhoea, and vomited continually. Her fever would hit 40 deg C at times.
Despite having countless needles and drips inserted into her, the little girl hardly threw any tantrums. She gritted her teeth and bore the pain, whispering a weak 'I'm okay' every time she was asked how she felt.
It broke her parents' hearts to see her that way.
Deciding that four days of probing needles was enough suffering for their child, the couple went for a second opinion. On the fifth day, another doctor suspected that Natalie had Kawasaki Disease.
It increases the blood platelet count, which can cause inflammation around the valves, resulting in heart complications.
A cardiologist, who was called in to conduct a heart scan, confirmed the diagnosis. Madam Au listened in disbelief as the cardiologist told her that there was inflammation around the valves of the heart, and that treatment had to be administered immediately.
Natalie was to be given intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) to stop the inflammation of blood vessels.
IVIG is a medication of concentrated antibodies administered via a drip.
The second shock came almost immediately - the medication could cause severe reactions like heart complications.
If so, it would occur within the first two hours. Usually the chances of death are low.
Still, Madam Au and her husband counted the seconds and prayed, while Natalie was in the intensive care unit.
Two hours passed, and things began to look up, especially after Natalie asked for food in the third hour.
At midnight, the fever returned but, thankfully, it subsided in the morning. The 12-hour treatment course had also come to an end.
Miraculously, the little girl became her old self and ate heartily, to her parents' relief.
For the eight days that Natalie was warded, Madam Au hardly left her daughter's side. She could barely work up an appetite even though she was five months' pregnant with her second daughter. Even after she was discharged, Natalie had to be on constant medication.
Besides going for monthly heart scans, she had to take aspirin for three months to help thin her blood.
Today, the bubbly 3 1/2-year-old enjoys reading, arts and crafts, and playing with her eight-month-old sister, Hilary.
Madam Au said: 'Those eight days were the darkest days of my life. They certainly weren't easy for Natalie, but I'm proud of her, for she was so young, yet so brave through it all.'
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Disease hits young children, heart usually affected
KAWASAKI Disease occurs predominantly in young children - about 90 per cent of patients diagnosed at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) are less than 5 years old.
The youngest patient treated by the hospital was about 2 months old.
The younger the child, the higher the incidence - for example, about 40 per cent of KKH's patients with Kawasaki Disease were less than a year old when they were diagnosed.
Every year, the hospital sees an average of about 70 cases of Kawasaki Disease.
The actual cause of the disease remains elusive, even though it was first discovered in Japan more than 30 years ago.
Dr Tan Teng Hong, a paediatric cardiologist at KKH, said: 'The current thinking is that Kawasaki Disease is caused by massive activation of the body's immune system in a child with genetic susceptibility, probably triggered by an infective agent.
'The activation of the immune system leads to inflammatory changes in the body and gives rise to symptoms and signs typical of the disease.'
The most common symptoms are prolonged fever (generally more than five days), accompanied by conjunctivitis (red eyes), rashes, dry and cracked lips.
There is also redness of the tongue, lymph node enlargement of the neck, and swelling or redness of the hands and feet.
Although complications of Kawasaki Disease can occur in any organ system, they usually affect the heart.
Dr Tan said: 'It is now recognised that Kawasaki Disease has become the leading cause of acquired heart disease in developed countries such as Singapore.
'Acute complications include inflammation of the heart muscle, heart attack, sudden death and cardiac failure. Fortunately, catastrophic acute cardiac event is rare.'
The main treatment is intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) and oral aspirin. Measures are also taken to control the fever and, if the child is not eating or drinking well, he might need to be put on an intravenous drip.
All patients will need outpatient follow-up for a variable amount of time, depending on whether there is any coronary involvement.
Generally, the chances of recurrence are not high.
iapers