Failure to Diagnose Kawasaki Disease at the Extremes of the Pediatric Age Range

To learn about physician practices in diagnosing Kawasaki disease, we surveyed general pediatricians and pediatric infectious disease physicians by questionnaire. A high proportion of general pediatricians (>50%) and infectious disease subspecialists (25%) did not consider the diagnosis of Kawasaki disease in children younger than 6 months and older than 8 years. Failure to consider the diagnosis at the extremes of the pediatric age range puts children at risk because coronary artery abnormalities occur more often in young infants and adolescents with Kawasaki disease.