Kawasaki Disease Mimicking Retropharyngeal Abscess

Abstract

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute, self-limiting febrile mucocutaneous vasculitis of infants and children. Diagnosis of KD is clinical and is based on the presence of fever with other features suggestive of KD, lymphadenopathy being the least common. Retropharyngeal abscess mimicking KD has been rarely reported from India. We discuss an 8-year-old boy presenting initially with a retropharyngeal abscess and upper airway obstruction, later developing a full-blown KD, thus resulting in a delayed diagnosis of KD.