Polyarteritis nodosa in childhood

The clinical and pathologic findings of 2 infants and 7 older children with polyarteritis nodosa who were autopsied are reported. The most frequent clinical features included prolonged high fever, skin rash, abdominal symptoms, leukocytosis, proteinuria, and signs of either cardiac or renal failure. The 2 infants died of cardiac arrest, whereas renal or neurologic involvement was the most common cause of death in the older children. A consistent finding at autopsy was arteritis of the epicardial coronary arteries.