Hong Wang - Paediatric Kawasaki Disease: Clinical Analysis and Cases

Jointly published with People's Medical Publishing House, PR of China

The print edition is not for sale in China (Mainland). Customers from China (Mainland) please order the print book from: People's Medical Publishing House, PR of China.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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I met Professor Hong Wang for the first time at a pediatric academic conference about three years ago, in which many pediatric cardiologists gathering for annual meeting. By talking I noticed that we are alumna of China Medical University. About one and half years ago, she kindly gave me as a gift her just published book about Kawasaki disease cases she collected. I was very impressive by these cases. All cases were special and with details clinical features, images, and analysis. I suggested her to publish these valuable cases collection in English, which could spread all over the world and may help medical student, professional, and even the families of their children suffering from this disease. One year later, this idea also confirmed by Peoples Health Publishing House. This book was selected with other valuable books to publish in English version by Springer. From then on we worked together to make it possible.

The KD cases collected from more than twenty year ago by Dr Wang. They including 53 KD cases which either typical KD or with complications involved different systems, such as cardiovascular, digestive, nervous, blood, respiratory, urinary, bone and joints, and endocrine systems complications. In this book, each case presented with clinical history, physical examination, laboratory findings, diagnosis, treatment, and discussion, all available images also included. Different from other books, in this book, all cases are real. Therefore, some cases might not perform all examinations or lost follow up.

As a non-native English as first language, Dr Wang and her team worked very hard to write up this book. Therefor when you read it might not like a native speaker English in somewhere. However I believe that you will get all information you need from these cases. I hope this book will benefit to all readers.

I still remember 30 years ago, when the first case of Kawasaki Disease (KD) was diagnosed in our hospital, I just graduated and started rotation in the pediatric cardiology ward. The special clinical symptoms, signs and novel name left deep impression on me. After successful diagnosis and cure of a few cases, I felt the diagnosis and treatment of KD was straightforward. However, about 20 years ago, a 6-month infant was brought to our ward on Day 12 of his illness with regular treatment proven unsuccessful, presented not only continuous fever but also successive coronary dilation, facial nerve palsy, sleepiness, aseptic meningitis. During intravascular mannitol treatment, the patient also developed acute heart failure. Although the final prognosis was well, from then on, I began to re-evaluate the KD, and once created a sense of fear. In the following years, I encountered countless special cases one after another, which always made me feel it is the first time I have met the disease. In recent 7 years, a total of three cases in our center with KD or AKD died of chronic heart failure (CHF) for prior misdiagnosis in local hospital. They developed giant coronary artery aneurysms (CAA), coronary thrombosis, and ischemic cardiomyopathy. One of them developed the aortic valve serious damage. Another patient, who survived two and a half years after diagnosed KD, was still struggling with CHF. In China, the doctor-patient relationship is somewhat sensitive. Furthermore, glucocorticoids application was controversial. Once developed rash during fever, applying glucocorticoids is very common, especially in clinics in rural and/or remote regions. Thus, some atypical clinical symptoms usually delayed the diagnosis of KD and results in severe coronary artery complications. As a pediatric cardiovascular professional doctor, I am very distressed. After KD was first reported more than 50 years ago, there are still patients losing life or being disabled because of the disease. I am obligated to parents and to all pediatric medical coworkers to let known the knowledge of KD. Thats why I wrote this book. To accumulate these cases and experience, I would like to thank our distinguished predecessors, Prof. Wang Yong-ji, Prof. Piao Ying-ai, Prof. Zhu Ya-nan, Associate Prof. Hu Shu-chun and Prof. Yu Xian-yi. They laid a solid foundation to help us evolve into an organization that nowadays encountering more than 500 cases of KD every year, and accumulating rich experience in the diagnosis and treatment. At the same time I would also like to thank pediatric related colleagues for their timely consultation and guidance, collaboratively saving the young patients regardless of the acute phases. Thanks to the farsightedness and courage of the hospital leaders in developing electronic medical records (EMRs), which enabled preservation of the precious materials and images, making the book more colorful. In order to be more rigorous, we specially invited Prof Hou Yang from the department of radiology to mark the images of coronary artery CTA and other radiology images. Associate Professor of cardiac ultrasound Yu Xiao-na for the coronary artery ultrasound images and other ultrasound images, blood chamber attending Liu Xuan, and pathology department attending physician Huo Yun-long responsable in their respective fields. In order to complete this -book, nave but all-out, we are using the out of office hours during nights or holidays, lasting for more than 1 year. Admittedly due to the capability limitation and language gap, inevitably there will be errors or mistakes. Hence, I sincerely look forward to the comments and corrections from peer experts.