Other tests may find a mild anemia and platelet counts are usually very high by the second to third week of illness. However, in many instances your child may not have all the symptoms required to make the diagnosis and may still have an atypical case of Kawasaki disease. Your physician may opt to wait several days with close supervision to see if other symptoms develop. Your child may also need more extensive tests done by a specialist, including evaluation by a Cardiologist, Pediatric Rheumatologist, Ophthalmologist or Infectious Disease specialist. It is important to try to diagnose with some certainty within ten days and start treatment to decrease the incidence of complications involving the heart.
Treatment is initiated as soon as the diagnosis is made.
However, the risk is much smaller than the risk involved in acquiring these viruses form blood transfusions and the benefits of administering IVIG usually far outweigh the risk of infection transmitted by the product if the diagnosis is made with some certainty. Your child may develop symptoms due to IVIG like headaches, decreased blood pressure, but these are usually transient. Some children will require more than one dose if symptoms persist. The next phase is the convalescent stage , in which symptoms have gone away. It continues until the ESR has returned to normal, usually about 6-8 weeks after the illness began.