Objective:

To examine the long-term deficits in cognitive and adaptive behavior functioning in children with Kawasaki disease.

Method:

Twenty children in the age range of 6 to 10 years with a diagnosis of Kawasaki disease were recruited from the Pediatric Rheumatology and Immunology Clinic of the Department of Pediatrics, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Educational & Research, Chandigarh. Cognitive and adaptive behavior functioning was assessed using the Malin’s Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and the Indian adaptation of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS), respectively. The 3 IQ scores, i.e., Verbal IQ (VIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ), and Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) generated by the MISIC and the social quotient (SQ) generated from the VSMS were compared for the Kawasaki group and an age and sex matched Asthma control group.

Results:

The mean VIQ, PIQ, and FSIQ for the Kawasaki group were found to be 98.29 (S.D. = 6.68), 94.40 (S.D. = 6.24) and 96.24 (S.D. = 5.60), respectively. None of these scores were significantly different from the IQ scores of the Asthma group. No significant differences between the cases and controls were found on the SQ as well. The IQs and SQs of the Kawasaki patients corresponded closely to the normal average range.

Conclusions:

Parents can be reassured that there are no effects of acute Kawasaki disease on children’s cognitive and adaptive functioning.

RCIAPCON 2005 - Conference Abstracts.Pediatric Oncall [serial online] 2006 [cited 15 June 2006(Supplement 6)];3. Available from:
http://www.pediatriconcall.com/fordoctor/Conference_abstracts/
congnitive_kawasaki_disease.asp