Kawasaki disease in Colombia: A systematic review and contrast with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children associated with COVID-19

INTRODUCTION: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis with multisystem involvement. Recently, the increasing incidence of a condition that closely resembles KD in many cases, named multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), has set off alarms amid the current worldwide coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Hence, the aim is to conduct a systematic review of the literature about KD in Colombia and contrast it with COVID-19-related MIS-C. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A search was carried out in both international and Latin American electronic databases for publications concerning patients with KD in the Colombian population. Records were then screened by titles and/or abstracts, assessed for eligibility, and reviewed. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. The search included studies reporting MIS-C associated with COVID-19, and compared these patients with our findings of KD in Colombia. RESULTS: Out of 36 publications retrieved, 17 were included, representing 120 individuals. Male to female ratio was 1.6, and most patients (90.4%) were aged 5 years or less. Among the main features of KD, fever was the most frequent (96.2% of the patients), while cervical lymphadenopathy was present in only 40.6%. Intravenous immunoglobulin was administered in 91.4% cases and 6.2% were resistant. Cardiac involvement was found in around 30%, and 20% had coronary artery lesions. Comparison between MIS-C associated with COVID-19 and KD in Colombia indicates that patients affected by MIS-C were older (72.2% of MIS-C patients > 5 years), had higher rates of cardiac involvement, and required critical care more often. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings of KD in Colombia are consistent with the available descriptions of KD in the scientific literature. Given the increasing rate of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in Colombia and Latin America, our study raises awareness about MIS-C in pediatric patients with COVID-19 and its relationship with KD.