Kawasaki disease--Indian perspective

Kawasaki disease is a syndrome of unknown etiology affecting children below 5 years of age and is a leading cause of acquired heart disease in many developed countries. Incidence of this disease in India is extremely low as evidenced by the meagre case reports. Complications due to this disease in Indian patients are still rarer. Here we report two cases of Kawasaki disease both of whom had a benign course. A comparison of this disease in Indian and Western literature shows that the incidence of cardiac complications in the Indian patients is about 10% while in the west it is reported at around 30%. This paucity of complications in the Indian patients may be the reason of poor reporting of this disease in our country.