Facial palsy in a 2-month-old infant with Kawasaki disease

Involvement of Nervous System in Kawasaki Disease

“…In general, most authors agree that neurological complications in Kawasaki disease reflect an increased underlying inflammatory burden. 10,13 15 Ishida et al, 26 Sabatier et al, 16 Yamazaki-Nakashimada et al, 25 Wang et al, 17 Ahn et al, 24 Tanaka et al, 28 Wada et al, 22 Du et al, 27 Suda et al, 18 Hoshino et al, 29 Fujiwara et al, 19 Laxer et al, 20 51 Stowe, 50 Khubchandani and Dhanrajani, 49 Kocabas et al, 48 Thapa, 47 Kaur et al, 46 Lim et al, 45 Li et al, 43 Wright et al, 44 Larralde et al, 42 Poon et al 52 Abducens nerve palsy 4 (case reports) Emiroglu et al, 54 Rodriguez-Lozano et al, 55 Guven et al, 56 Wurzburger et al 57 Articles identified by our literature search consisted mostly of case reports or case series. Prospective and retrospective studies are uncommon and can be attributed to the relative rarity of neurological complications in this entity.…”

“…Analysis of these cases showed that this complication affected girls more frequently than boys, whereas the total prevalence of Kawasaki disease was higher among boys. [42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] Furthermore, it was usually left sided; however, a case of bilateral facial palsy was also reported. 45 In most cases, the palsy was peripheral and affected infants.…”

“…The youngest patient described with this complication was a 2-month-old infant. 46,47 In general, facial nerve palsy is an early complication and can be attributed either to an aseptic inflammation mechanism or to increased intracranial pressure, a finding often observed among patients with Kawasaki disease. 51,52 It should also be noted that there was a higher association with coronary artery aneurysms in such patients compared with those without facial palsy who never received treatment.…”