Syndrome, Kawasaki

A syndrome of unknown origin, mainly affecting young children, that causes fever, reddening of the eyes (conjunctivitis), lips and mucous membranes of the mouth, ulcerative gum disease (gingivitis), swollen glands in the neck (cervical lymphadenopathy), and a rash that is raised and bright red (maculoerythematous) in a glove-and-sock fashion over the skin of the hands and feet which becomes hard, swollen (edematous), and peels off. Also called "mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome," a name that is quite descriptive because the disease is characterized by the typical changes in the mucus membranes that line the lips and mouth and by the enlarged and tender lymph glands. The syndrome was first described in the late 1960's in Japan by the pediatrician Tomisaku Kawasaki.