Mycoplasma pneumoniae: a possible trigger of kawasaki disease or a mere coincidental association? Report of the first four Italian cases.

Abstract

Although epidemiological and clinical features strongly suggest an infectious cause, the etiology of Kawasaki disease (KD) still remains unknown. The hypothesis that bacterial toxins acting as superantigens could trigger the cascade of events leading to KD has been widely debated. We report four children with typical KD in whom a serological evidence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection was detected.