What to Expect
Your child will be evaluated by one of our experts with extensive experience in Kawasaki Disease and management. After a thorough medical history and physical exam, our experts may request blood and urine tests that, when combined, improve the diagnosis of Kawasaki Diseasea and make other diseases less likely. The experts may request an echocardiogram, an ultrasound of the heart, to look at the heart blood vessels for swelling. Once diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease, the therapy requires that your child be hospitalized for the IVIG treatment administered through an IV. Like other blood products, IVIG undergoes rigorous tests for HIV, hepatitis and other blood-borne diseases. There have been no known cases of a child treated for Kawasaki disease developing an infection from the use of IVIG, but a small number may experience side effects such as fever or chills during the treatment. In some cases where the risk for heart artery involvement is high, your expert team may recommend additional treatments and time in the hospital to watch for the expected improvement. Your expert team will see you and your child in the hospital daily to give you updates and answer questions.