Children across the U.S. and Europe are coming down with a rare but life-threatening condition that appears to be connected to covid-19. But as doctors continue to study the ailment, some experts are arguing that it should stop being compared to another rare disorder in children, called Kawasaki disease. Rather, it seems to be its own distinct illness triggered by the novel coronavirus.
Last month, pediatricians in the UK began reporting an apparent surge of peculiar cases: Children with long-lasting fevers, rashes, and other symptoms of widespread inflammation, like reddened eyes. Some children would go on to experience a sudden, dangerous drop in blood pressure, commonly known as shock, that could deprive their organs of oxygen and necessitate intensive care. Many of these children were eventually tested for the coronavirus, either through a PCR test that confirms an active infection or through blood tests that look for antibodies to the virus, and often ended up testing positive.
On the surface, the condition bore a close resemblance to two well-known but rare conditions in children: Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome. So when doctors and organizations initially sounded the alarm for other doctors to look out for these symptoms, they frequently alluded to both conditions, particularly Kawasaki. More cases have now been reported in the U.S., with at least 102 cases being investigated by health officials in New York as of May 13. Kawasaki disease continues to be referenced by health officials and media outlets in talking about the condition, but experts Gizmodo has spoken to say that’s no longer a helpful way of looking at it.
“Pediatricians are trained to think about Kawasaki disease when you see fever, red eyes, red lips, and rash in children,” Stanford Shulman, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Northwestern University in Chicago, told Gizmodo. “But as our experience has grown, we’re finding that a lot of features in these children are quite unlike most Kawasaki disease patients.”
One of the most glaring differences is age. While Kawasaki predominantly affects children under 5 years old, the age range of victims of this syndrome extends to as far as 21. Another difference is that many children also have stomach pain and other gastrointestinal problems, uncommon symptoms with typical Kawasaki.
Some children with Kawasaki can develop shock and need intensive care, much as these children have—a presentation occasionally referred to by doctors as “kawashocki.” But according to Moshe Arditi, director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division at Cedars-Sinai in California, there are still apparent distinctions between those two conditions.
For one, only about 5 percent of Kawasaki patients ever develop shock and need intensive care, while a much higher percentage of these new cases have ended up in the ICU, according to early reports. In addition to the different symptoms, children with the new syndrome also have lab readings that are easily distinguishable from those with typical Kawasaki, such as lower levels of certain white blood cells and platelets.
“These patients shouldn’t be called Kawasaki disease,
